Stephen Cadogan: Britain's plans to cope with Brexit have to be taken with a pinch of salt

The British government had not yet reached agreement with the devolved administrations on when to bring in checks on sanitary and phytosanitary goods from Ireland

The National Audit Office said such controls may operate on an inconsistent and incomplete basis due to ongoing uncertainties and differences in port readiness.

"After next October" has been confirmed as the latest deadline when the British government plans to start new sanitary and phytosanitary checks on goods arriving from the island of Ireland.

The checks include documentary, identity, and physical checks on medium-risk animals, plants, and their products, and the movement of existing inspections of high-risk plants and their products to border controls posts.