London :
Politicians in Britain, Northern Ireland and the European Union on Tuesday condemned threats against border staff that prompted authorities to suspend post-Brexit checks on animal products.
The Northern Ireland government said it had stopped inspections at Belfast and Larne ports “in the interests of the wellbeing of staff.” Mark McEwan, Assistant Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said the force had increased patrols “in order to reassure staff and the local community.” Graffiti recently appeared in the Larne area, 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Belfast, referring to post-Brexit tensions over Northern Ireland and describing port staff as “targets.” Staff have also reported signs of suspicious behavior, including people writing down vehicle license plate numbers.
Local mayor Peter Johnston said there had been “deeply troubling graffiti and a very notable upping of community tensions.” Since the UK left the European Union’s economic structures at the end of 2020, customs and veterinary checks have been imposed on goods moving between Britain and the bloc. Under the U.K.-EU divorce terms there are also checks on British goods going to Northern Ireland, because it shares a border with EU member Ireland.
An open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is a key pillar of the peace process that ended decades of violence in the region. With Britain out of the EU, the only way to avoid checks along that border was to keep Northern Ireland bound to some of the EU’s rules — and that means checks on trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
