Why the cost of replacing Britain’s border fleet has soared to £300 million

The fleet of border control cutters responsible for patrolling our waters (and at times for dealing with irregular migrants on them) is showing its age and needs renewing. Unfortunately we now know that the exercise will cost £300 million rather than the original estimate of roughly £50 million, and will be delayed until at least 2030. Why has this happened? The reason is a big post-Brexit legal snafu which cuts across the government’s wish to ensure that the vessels are built here.

To keep it as simple as possible, an international treaty called the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or GATT, prevents governments indulging in protectionism, but it has two exceptions. One is national security, allowing a government, for example, to insist on warships being home-built. The other is government procurement, though here governments can waive the right to discriminate in respect of particular items selected by them.

Before Brexit, the EU, then acting on behalf of the UK in matters relating to trade, had signed just such a waiver, agreeing that procurement of all ships except warships should be open to international competition.