​Cost of Brexit rises another £4.7bn - Angus Robertson

Post-Brexit import checks have finally been brought in after repeated delays. Credit: Mark Hall/Adobe/Getty

We can add £4.7 billion to the price of Brexit, according to the UK National Audit Office (NAO).

​This is the cost of implementing new border controls to check the transport of goods from the UK and European Union, not including staffing and maintenance costs.

The new arrangements will make trade with the EU more costly and difficult, harming the Scottish and UK economy. Post-Brexit border checks have already cost British businesses an estimated £7.5 billion a year in new red tape, says the NAO.

In addition, £62 million was spent on Dover White Cliffs and Dover Bastion Point by the UK Government. They then decided they weren’t needed. £258 million was spent building and running eight temporary border facilities that weren’t needed, either. Pure waste.

The frequency and gravity of the revelations about how Brexit is harming the UK is truly shocking.

What are the Brexiteers saying?

"Brexit sort of unfortunately didn't umm… It didn't turn out as people anticipated," said Brexit-backing billionaire Jim Ratcliffe.

He said leaving the EU was “about immigration” and “People fed up with the influx. A small island like the UK can't cope with vast numbers of people. It overburdens the NHS, traffic, the police."

A reminder of the facts: on average, immigrants contribute more in tax per head than the general population. They also crucial occupy jobs in our NHS and public services, where there are enormous employment gaps.

Is Jim Ratcliffe now invested in trying to fix the mess he helped create? Put it this way: After Brexit, Jim moved his tax residence from the UK to the tax haven of Monaco.