Ports body welcomes Brexit 'customs backstop'

The British Ports Association (BPA) has thrown its weight behind the UK government's agreement on a 'customs backstop' for Brexit.

The proposal would see the UK match EU trade tariffs temporarily in order to avoid a hard Irish border post-Brexit.

The arrangement gives terminals and freight operators a measure of short-term certainty, according to BPA chief executive Richard Ballantyne.

But he said: "It is now essential that government makes progress on our long-term customs and other border arrangements.