Consignments of meat and animal product imports are avoiding British border checks in “drive-bys” that raise the risk of disease hitting the country, MPs have warned.
Parliament’s Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) committee has published data showing the percentage of consignments of meat and plant products that were taken, after being flagged for checks, from Dover to the sole border control post at Sevington, 22 miles from the port.
Data provided by the Environment Department (Defra) for three sample months, show that in November 2025, 18 per cent of flagged consignments of animal products such as meat and dairy were not taken to Sevington, despite being directed to by digital systems when they arrived at Dover. These so-called “drive-bys” were up from eight per cent in August 2025, the data show.
Disaster
The Efra committee warned limited checks could pose severe risks to UK livestock and plants, as diseases such as African swine fever, foot and mouth and plant-harming Xylella bacteria circulate in Europe.
The committee said the figures come amid growing evidence that the reputation for inadequate checks at Dover was leading criminal gangs to bring products into Britain that would not legally be sold on the continent.
Alistair Carmichael, the committee’s chairman, said: “This new evidence from Defra paints a picture of a dysfunctional system.
“Unchecked meat and plant products carrying potentially devastating diseases are being let in through the front door. The risks to our livestock and plants are grave and very real.
Breaches
“Both the horticultural and livestock sectors see this as a disaster waiting to happen.”
He said the British Government needed to make the Sevington system work at least until a new system could be agreed with the EU.
The correspondence from Defra also highlights that a plant pilot to follow up on consignments that had not attended the border control post within three hours of arrival at the port reduced “non-compliance” and improved the data.
But Mr Carmichael accused the government of not committing the resources to keep the pilot going or expanding it for meat and dairy products.
“How terribly short sighted that will look if another outbreak of foot and mouth arises from this farce,” he said.
A Defra spokesperson said: “Non-attendance at Sevington border control post is a breach of regulation and we expect the relevant authorities to follow up on any breaches of this.”
This Author
Emily Beament is the Press Association environment correspondent.