Michael Gove, the UK’s Brexit minister, has said that the UK will introduce border controls when the transition period ends on 31 December 2020.

While restoration of border inspections for trade with EU countries are an inevitable consequence of Brexit, this is the first time that the UK government has formally stated that there will be checks and controls on imports into the UK from EU countries.

The EU has made clear that there will be checks on UK exports to EU countries.

He pointed out that this didn’t apply to trade on the island of Ireland or between Northern Ireland and Britain.

However, the Irish protocol in the withdrawal agreement between the UK and EU provides for checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from Britain to avoid checks at the land border.