Brexit: No extra animal checks at start of no-deal outcome

Up to 10,000 pigs cross the Irish border from south to north each week

The government has said it will not impose additional checks on imports of animals and animal products on day one of a no-deal Brexit.

The commitment was given in a response to a Westminster report on the impact on agriculture in Northern Ireland.

The government said it would take a "risk-based approach" to import checks and to do otherwise would be "disproportionate" to the risk posed.

But it warned that the position is "time-limited" and could change.

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Agreement has already been reached with the Scottish and Welsh administrations, which will adopt the same approach.

The policy is subject to agreement in Northern Ireland and the government said it "acknowledged" the lack of a Stormont executive to make such a decision.

Northern Ireland has been without a devolved administration since January 2017, when the governing parties - the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin - split in a bitter row.

farmers had been crying out for clarify on trade for their produce, said MP Andrew Murrison

Northern Ireland imported £835m of food and live animals from the Republic of Ireland in 2017.

Up to 1,000 cattle and 10,000 pigs cross the border from south to north each week.

The government position was set out in response to a Northern Ireland Affairs Committee report on Brexit and agriculture in Northern Ireland.

By contrast, the Irish government in its no-deal contingency document, published last night avoided any reference to what might happen at the border in a no-deal scenario.

Andrew Murrison, the chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, said farmers and producers had been "crying out" for clarity from the government on how it would handle trade.

"It is essential that exports of agricultural products to Ireland do not face unnecessarily stringent checks," he said.

"The ball in now in the EU's court to make a similar commitment to the UK."