Brexit checks on animal and food products arriving at the ports of Belfast and Larne have been lifted amid fears about the safety of the team, the Northern Ireland Ministry of Agriculture said.
The decision came after the Antrim district council in the Middle East agreed on Monday night to remove 12 of its employees at the port of Larne with immediate effect, after “an increase in sinister and threatening behavior in recent weeks”.
A spokesman for the Stormont (Daera) Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs said: “Based on the information received today and pending further discussions with PSNI [Police Service of Northern Ireland], Daera decided, in the interests of staff welfare, to temporarily suspend physical inspections of animal products in Larne and Belfast.
“The situation will be kept under review and, in the meantime, full documentary checks will continue to be carried out as usual.”
Edwin Poots, Minister of Agriculture of Northern Ireland, tweeted this he had made the decision to remove personnel from ports in consultation with them.
PSNI’s assistant chief, Mark McEwan, said the force’s officers will meet with partner agencies to discuss the situation. “The safety of the staff working at entry points is of the utmost importance to us,” he said. “Whenever we have reliable information, we will share it with our partners and take appropriate action.
“We have increased patrols at Larne Harbor and other points of entry to reassure staff and the local community.”
The Northern Ireland protocol came into force on January 1 to avoid a border with the island of Ireland, but many were dismayed by the weight it represents for companies.
UK Cabinet Minister Michael Gove, the Irish government and the European Commission have been working behind the scenes to establish a way to make the protocol work after its turbulent start and these efforts are expected to be redoubled with Gove asking an urgent question on the issue in parliament at 12.30 pm on Tuesday.
Tensions over control of goods crossing the Irish Sea for supermarkets and food services have arisen in loyal communities in the past two weeks, with graffiti threatening authorities.
The Mid and East Antrim district council said the situation had caused “extreme distress and concern for staff” at Larne Harbor, which was helping officers from Daera and the UK Border Force with the controls. He stated that he had “no other option but to remove them from their duties to fulfill their duty of care and carry out a complete risk assessment”, in collaboration with PSNI and Daera.
Last week, graffiti appeared on a wall near the port warning that all border officials were targets. The team is also known to have reported that individuals were seen writing down the details of their number plates.
Two days ago, police launched an investigation into graffiti in southern Belfast threatening former Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar if he “set foot in Ulster”.
Peter Johnston, the mayor of Middle and East Antrim and an alderman of the Union Democratic Party, said: “We saw what I would describe as worrying graffiti and a noticeable increase in community tensions over the NI protocol, especially in the past few days.
“The health and well-being of our staff is always the number one priority of this council and that is why the decision was taken to remove them from work in the port with immediate effect, until we have real guarantees and full confidence that can proceed. their duties without fear, threat or concern for their well-being. “
A diplomatic source told the Guardian that the protocol’s unforeseen consequences were fueling tensions. “Where are the flexibility and creative solutions that the EU asked for during the Brexit negotiations? Every day there are new twists and turns that touch the notions of identity and sovereignty, which are extremely sensitive to the cause of previous conflicts, ”said the source.
Since 1 January, Northern Ireland traders have been subjected to a litany of checks on goods and, in particular, food sold from Britain, with sanitary and phytosanitary checks at the Larne, Belfast and Warrenpoint outposts.
But concerns have been raised about the impact of a land ban from Britain on how to import plants into garden centers, which was imposed based on the risk of importing pests.
Soil on agricultural machinery has long been considered a risk, with dirty tractors and farm parts returned or destroyed about six times a year to prevent the eel worm from entering the island of Ireland, said Northern Ireland’s chief veterinarian Robert Huey, before Christmas. However, few expected that this strict rule would now apply to sales to plant nurseries.
Jonathan Whittemore, of the Johnsons of Whixley of North Yorkshire, called for urgent action on rules that the company “did not expect”, telling the BBC on Monday that he feared losing £ 500,000 a year because of the sales barrier for the region.