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A senior EU official said: “You will have to pick and choose what you are bringing from the UK. “Any animal based product you will not want to put into your luggage. No import of any ham, sausage or other delicacies. That’s the end of that. “The reason for this is you can bring serious diseases into the EU by bringing these products in.” Passengers attempting to flout the rules will find themselves illegally smuggling the forbidden products over the border, the official added.

Holidaymakers to the Continent in the event of a hard Brexit will be faced with a brutal crackdown on goods that can be carried across the border, according to a senior EU official. The Brussels source said travellers will be prevented from carrying animal-based products, such as Cornish pasties and Cheddar cheese, across the border if Britain leaves the EU without a deal on April 12. Pierre Moscovici, the EU’s tax and customs chief, revealed he will implement the extra border checks within minutes of a no-deal divorce.

Brexit news: No deal will see Britons banned from taking pork pies into Europe

Once Britain becomes a so-called third country, fresh meat, milk, poultry fish, pet food, eggs and honey will be just a few of the products banned from crossing the border. The officials shrugged off any fears of reciprocal bans for European products. The source said: “Eating only UK cheese will be a pity for the UK.” Mr Moscovici described the border checks due to be implemented as a “radical” shift that will take place “immediately”. He told reporters in Brussels: “If there is a no-deal Brexit, the UK will become a third country from one day to the next.

“This will be an immediate change, a radical one.” This means travellers to EU countries will be impacted by extra checks at airports, train stations and ports on their luggage and passports. The checks would also be implemented on the Irish border, Mr Moscovici confirmed. He said: “There will be checks, let’s not be mistaken about that.

“Both the EU and the UK would need to carry out the necessary checks in the least disruptive manner possible and as much as possible away from the border.” Britain is set to leave the EU without a deal on April 12 but leaders will convene with Theresa May days before in an attempt to negotiate another Brexit delay. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker today told MEPs that Britain could agree a short extension if MPs support the Prime Minister’s deal by April 12. If not, he suggested the EU and UK would have to make preparations for a longer extension that would see Britain forced to participate in European Parliament elections.