'Last Chance to Do the Right Thing': Jenney Blasts Failed UK Border Strategy

Fresh concerns have been raised over the UK’s post-Brexit border regime after MPs revealed that a significant number of consignments of meat and plant products are passing through the Port of Dover without attending mandatory inspections at the Sevington Border Control Post.

New data, published by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (DEFRA), reveals that in November 2025 nearly one in five consignments of animal-origin products flagged for checks failed to attend Sevington, despite being directed there by digital border systems.

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According to figures provided DEFRA, 18% of flagged consignments did not present for inspection, a sharp increase from 8% recorded in August 2025. Officials refer to these incidents as “drive-bys”, where vehicles simply continue on to their destination without undergoing biosecurity checks.

The Sevington facility, located around 22 miles from Dover, was introduced after Brexit as a temporary inland inspection site because checks could not be carried out directly at the port. However, MPs say the system relies heavily on drivers voluntarily attending the facility, with limited enforcement if they fail to do so.

Chair of the committee Alistair Carmichael warned the situation poses serious risks to UK agriculture and horticulture.

“Unchecked meat and plant products carrying potentially devastating diseases are being let in through the front door,” he stated.

Watch the Committee’s evidence session on Parliament TV

The concerns come amid recent outbreaks of major livestock and plant diseases across Europe, including African Swine Fever and Foot and Mouth Disease, as well as plant threats such as Xylella fastidiosa.

Industry leaders say the findings expose deeper problems with the UK’s border strategy since leaving the EU.

Nigel Jenney, Chief Executive of the Fresh Produce Consortium, said the situation highlights the costly consequences of a flawed approach to border controls that industry warned about from the outset.

“This highlights the huge cost and waste of successive governments’ flawed Brexit border strategy,” he said.

“The industry has offered, at no cost to government, proven, cost-effective solutions through the FPC which have been consistently ignored. Responsible companies have suffered considerable disruption, shocking service and huge unnecessary costs, ultimately paid by hard-pressed UK consumers.

Yet irresponsible operators appear able to simply ‘drive past’ without meaningful retribution.”

Jenney said the fresh produce sector had repeatedly put forward practical proposals that would have delivered both efficient trade flows and strong biosecurity, but these were overlooked in favour of a centralised government-run system.

“As a sector we have proactively offered efficient and biosecure border solutions, yet we’ve been simply ignored and forced to implement hugely inefficient government-managed border processes.

No commercial company would be allowed to behave in such an irresponsible manner, yet no one appears accountable.”

The EFRA Committee has previously warned that the Sevington system creates opportunities for non-compliance because drivers must travel away from the port to attend inspections. The committee also raised concerns that consignments could potentially be unloaded before checks take place.

Adding to the frustration, DEFRA officials told MPs during an evidence session on 3 March that follow-up checks are carried out on vehicles that fail to attend Sevington — but admitted they do not hold data on how often these enforcement actions occur.

With the UK Government currently negotiating a potential reset of sanitary and phytosanitary arrangements with the EU, the future of the Sevington facility and the wider border regime remains uncertain.

Jenney warned that lessons must be learned from the current system as negotiations progress.

“It’s imperative the proposed UK-EU reset does not fail in the same catastrophic manner,” he stressed.

“There are already indications that greatly increased UK border checks could be imposed on fresh produce imports from the rest of the world. This is scientifically unnecessary, offers no consumer value and would simply create new barriers and costs to trade.

If the reset progresses, fresh produce and flowers imported from the rest of the world consumed in the UK must be exempt — otherwise food inflation will continue to rise.”

He added that the Government now faces a critical moment to rebuild trust with the sector.

“We need government to listen and learn this time, rather than knowingly building political trade barriers that compromise our food security.

"This is the last chance to do the right thing.”

The EFRA Committee says further transparency is needed on how border controls are being enforced, warning that weaknesses in the system could leave the UK vulnerable to both disease risks and illegal imports.

For the fresh produce sector, the debate goes far beyond border bureaucracy, touching directly on food security, supply chain efficiency and the cost of food for British consumers.