The language may be oblique but the threat is nonetheless implicit. If there is no post-Brexit customs agreement with the EU “the UK would seek to recognise the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland and aim to protect individuals and traders by making maximum use of the UK flexibility in relation to our own operation of the border”. The British government position paper adds: “The processes on the other side of the border would be constrained by the relevant requirements of EU law.”Translated it means this: We won’t introduce a “hard border” in Northern Ireland after Brexit to protect you from smuggling — and if you do it’s on your own head. Senior figures in Whitehall have long believed that the Northern Ireland border problem…

Source: The Times August 15, 2017 23:03 UTC