Brexit department fails to consult on technical solutions to Irish border The Whitehall department in charge of Brexit has failed to approach a single external company to obtain ideas of how […]

The Whitehall department in charge of Brexit has failed to approach a single external company to obtain ideas of how technology will help solve the Northern Irish border issue.

Brexit Secretary David Davis has repeatedly claimed that a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic can be avoided using new technology.

Just last month, Mr Davis stated that “a whole load of new technology” exists to prevent the need for physical checks and controls at the border.

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Spider webs and magic

But in response to a freedom of information request submitted by i, officials at the Department for Exiting the European Union admitted the number of companies it had spoken to about such technology was “nil”.

It comes after a report from the Northern Irish Affairs committee last month stated the Government had provided “no evidence” that a technical solution to the border problem could be found.

It will heap yet more pressure on Mr Davis, who was accused of trying to build an invisible border “out of nothing but spider-webs and magic”.

The Government has committed to creating a “frictionless” border in Ireland after Brexit in a bid to avoid a return to checkpoints last seen during the Troubles.

Failure to agree a suitable solution would see Britain revert to the so-called “backstop solution” of keeping Northern Ireland in the customs union and the single market, something vehemently opposed by the Democratic Unionist Party, which is propping up Theresa May’s government.

Mr Davis made his first visit to Northern Ireland since he was appointed Brexit Secretary in July 2016 this week, where he claimed he would reach an agreement with the European Union by October that would keep the border “free from physical infrastructure”.

But Labour MP and supporter of Open Britain, Chuka Umunna said: “Ministers keep trying to convince us that fantastical sci-fi technology will solve the problem of the Northern Ireland border, but now we learn they haven’t bothered to seek ideas about how this would actually work.

“Unless David Davis possesses so far hidden levels of technical knowledge, such as how to build an invisible border out of nothing but spider-webs and magic, this is yet another example of the Government’s staggering lack of preparation for Brexit.”

Evidence

Tory MP Antoinette Sandbach added: “The Northern Ireland select committee report demonstrated there are no viable technical solutions anywhere in the world. Policy should be made on the basis of evidence.”

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs paid consultancy firm McKinsey & Company to help design the UK’s Brexit customs proposals only for it to be dismissed out of hand by Brussels.

In its letter in response DExEU said: “From the Prime Minister’s Article 50 letter and the Northern Ireland and Ireland position paper published in the summer, to the Prime Minister’s speeches on our future relationship with the EU and the December Joint Report – our unwavering commitment has been to avoid any physical infrastructure, including related checks and controls, on the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.”