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"There will be no border down the Irish Sea - over my dead body”

Boris Johnson, visit to Northern Ireland

14 August 2020

Facts

On a visit to Northern Ireland, Johnson said

“There will be no border down the Irish Sea - over my dead body.” 

A month before this, the first details of the controversial Brexit checks that Johnson insisted would not apply to trade across the Irish Sea had emerged, including mandatory paperwork for businesses in Great Britain supplying goods to Northern Ireland from January. The Guardian reported that an HMRC document  revealed that firms in Great Britain would be obliged to complete three rounds of customs, security and transit forms on all goods. 

The first goods crossed the new trade border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK on 1 January 2021, with lorries being met by officials and directed to new border control posts. Many food products from Great Britain now have to enter Northern through these border posts where they can be inspected by the Department of Agriculture. These products also need health certificates, though some of the new certification processes will be phased in over the next three months.

Verdict 

Boris Johnson was lying when he said that there would only be a border down the Irish Sea “over my dead body”.  He and his Ministers have repeated versions of the Prime Minister’s false statement many times- including in parliament, other examples can be found here, here, and here.

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