Council calls for public hearing over border checks

A council has called for an urgent public hearing over new post-Brexit checks for potentially dangerous foods at a port in Kent.

Officials have criticised the government's decision to move biosecurity checks from the border to a facility at Sevington, 22 miles (35km) inland from the Port of Dover.

In a letter, Dover District Council accused the government of exposing the country to a “needless increased risk of animal and public health outbreaks”.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (Efra) has been approached for comment.

In the letter, addressed to Defra chairman Sir Robert Goodwill, the council raised concerns over “misleading and confused” communications by Defra and the Cabinet Office.

“It remains the position of Dover Port Health Authority (DPHA), that for the purposes of safeguarding GB’s biosecurity, food safety and public and animal health, the border is not ready,” it said.

It said the new post-Brexit checks had created a “new and effortless doorway” for illegal food to bypass safety requirements.

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