News / UK government seeks to wash its hands of costly port SPS facility chaos

Photo: port of Portsmouth

UK ports have hit out at the government as it looks to offload responsibility for the associated costs of scrapping phytosanitary checks, including up to £450m reportedly invested by the ports in infrastructure.

Representatives from two port associations have condemned the government change of tack, increasingly referring to the border control posts (BCPs) – mandated before the policy was scrapped in April – as “commercial endeavours”.

British Ports Association CEO Richard Ballantyne told The Loadstar: “Recently government suggested the decision to build ...