Virus Hits U.K. Bid to Hire 50,000 Post-Brexit Customs Staff
- Trade with EU at risk without 50,000 more U.K. customs agents
- Coronavirus hampering government’s customs recruitment drive
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The U.K. risks failing to recruit the 50,000 customs agents the logistics industry says are needed before Britain’s final parting with the European Union, spelling potential chaos at the country’s busiest border.
The coronavirus has hampered efforts to train staff to handle the extra paperwork firms will need to complete after the U.K. exits the EU’s customs union at the year-end, according to industry bodies involved with the process. One lobby group says its offer to help plug the shortage of recruits has met with silence from Whitehall.