There will still be same flow of goods to NI supermarkets after Brexit, minister insists

George Eustice told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “There will be a phasing-in period at the start of this. Work is under way to put in place the checks that are needed, particularly at Belfast.

“There’s a joint committee discussion that is taking place that is trying to resolve all of these quite narrow technical issues often, but certainly they can be achieved.”

Asked if Northern Ireland consumers would have access to the same range of food on January 1, Mr Eustice said: “Yes, because we’re working through the joint committee process to ensure that supermarkets – and Tesco is the largest – but many other supermarkets also have operations in Northern Ireland, will be able to ensure there is a flow of goods to those stores.”

He added: “The government will always, obviously, prioritise the flow of goods and in particular the flow of food to Northern Ireland at the end of the transition period. That’s what any responsible government would do.”