Sea Border branded an ‘absurdity’ after gift package requires customs declaration

The customs declaration for a simple birthday package sent sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister MP has described the post-Brexit Irish Sea border as an “absurdity”, after highlighting that a simple gift of chocolate and soap sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland required a customs declaration.

Mr Allister said the incident demonstrated how the Northern Ireland Protocol continues to erode equal citizenship rights for UK citizens.

“Anyone who doubts that the EU noose is tightening month on month, look at this customs declaration which was required for a daughter in GB to send her parents in NI a gift of bars of chocolate and soap!” he said.

“Who would have thought the EU single market was so fragile that 4 bars of soap would damage it?”

The North Antrim MP argued that the issue went beyond consumer inconvenience, stressing that it illustrated the wider constitutional and sovereignty concerns raised by Unionists.

“Of course, the Irish Sea border was never about protecting their single market, it was always about the EU exercising sovereignty and control over NI,” he continued.

“So much for the promise of ‘equal citizenship’ that should be guaranteed by U.K. membership.”

Mr Allister further criticised political opponents whom he accused of enabling the continuation of the arrangements.

“Yet, some look the other way and day by day help sustain and implement the Union-dismantling Protocol,” he said.

He concluded: “TUV will not let these issues go.”

The comments come amid ongoing political and public debate about the operation of the Windsor Framework, which replaced aspects of the original Northern Ireland Protocol but continues to draw strong opposition from sections of Unionism.