UK Government stops releasing information on the number of checks carried out on Irish Sea border

The government says that it will no longer release information on the number of checks conducted – to protect the green lane scheme.

Baroness Hoey described the government position as “extraordinary” and accused it of trying to hide the facts on the issue.

As part of the Safeguarding the Union deal to restore devolution, powers were handed over to the UK government from local departments such as DAERA.

Since the return of the Assembly, MLAs were able to access detailed information on the number of checks carried out on the frontier – but that information is now controlled by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Mr Heaton-Harris now also exercises “direction and control” in deciding what information can be released by Stormont departments under Freedom of Information requests.

Much of the information available to the public about how much the border arrangements cost, how it is staffed and how it operates has – until now – emerged as a result of Assembly questions from the TUV. However, Stormont departments have stopped releasing that information since the Secretary of State took control.

Baroness Hoey, who sits as a crossbench peer in the House of Lords, asked the government how many checks were conducted in February, March and April of this year. This information had previously been made available by Stormont’s department of agriculture.

However, the DEFRA minister Lord Douglas-Miller said “in order not to undermine” the government’s approach to tackling criminality, abuse of the scheme, smuggling and disease risks “we do not disclose the specific number or nature of interventions made by UK authorities”.

Baroness Hoey told the News Letter: “Those of us who are seeking the truth from the government are more and more finding that they want to hide the facts.

“This really is pretty extraordinary and shows that they’ve got something to hide”.