Three and a bit years after Brexit, are border checks finally here?

Sort of: this week will see inspections of some goods. But the hit to businesses and inflation will be inescapable

When Michael Gove announced the first delay to post-Brexit checks on plant and animal products coming into the UK from the EU, he was keen to make one thing clear.

Although we recognise that many in the border industry and many businesses have been investing time and energy to be ready on time, and indeed we in government were confident of being ready on time," the then minister for the Cabinet Office said, we have listened to businesses who have made a strong case that they need more time to prepare."