MPs Warn Skipping Border Checks by Lorries Raises UK Disease Risks

MPs warn that lorries avoiding border checks at Dover increase the risk of diseases like African swine fever entering the UK, citing rising non-compliance and a dysfunctional system.

Concerns Over Lorries Avoiding Border Checks

Lorries importing meat and dairy products are increasing the risk of disease entering the UK by avoiding border checks, MPs have warned.

Following Brexit, checks on commercial vehicles arriving at Dover are not conducted at the port itself but at a control post located 22 miles (35km) away in Sevington, near Ashford.

However, data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) reveals a rise in so-called "drive-bys," where trucks fail to report to the Sevington control post due to insufficient enforcement.

Defra has been contacted for comment.

Data Indicates Increasing Non-Compliance

The data, collected over three sample months, shows that in November 2025, 18% of flagged consignments of animal products did not arrive at Sevington, up from 8% in August of the same year.

Risks Highlighted by Parliamentary Committee

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (Efra), a cross-party group overseeing Defra, stated this trend poses significant risks to UK livestock and plants from diseases circulating in Europe, including African swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease, and the plant-damaging Xylella bacteria.

The committee also noted growing evidence that a reputation for inadequate checks at Dover is encouraging criminal gangs to import products that would be illegal to sell on the continent.

Committee Chairman's Statement

"Defra's evidence paints a picture of a dysfunctional system," said the committee's chairman, Alistair Carmichael. "Unchecked meat and plant products being let in through the front door."

He added, "The risks to our livestock and plants are a disaster waiting to happen."

Carmichael emphasized the need for the government to ensure the Sevington system functions effectively at least until a new arrangement can be established with the EU.

Pilot Scheme and Government Response

Correspondence from Defra also mentioned a pilot scheme that followed up on plant consignments that had not arrived at the border control post within three hours of reaching the port.

While this initiative reportedly reduced "non-compliance" and improved data quality, Carmichael criticized the government for not allocating sufficient resources to maintain the scheme or to expand it to cover meat and dairy products.