SPECIAL REPORT
5
Brexit will push UK borders to the brink… unless we get smarter with data
by Matt Wiles, Chief Executive at Leidos UK
One of the biggest issues posed by Brexit is the impact that it will have on the UK’s borders. While the most well-documented concern is of course the lack of consensus over the Irish backstop, a more fundamental crisis looms once we actually leave the EU. The organisations controlling our borders, already stretched under layers of legacy systems, are about to be pushed to the brink as the amount of time it takes to process EU nationals and goods rises exponentially. To meet this challenge, the
government is already diverting considerable funds towards boosting manpower, infrastructure and technology at our borders. Rightly so - if we are to cope with the changes to come, we need to revisit and revitalise the country’s border and customs infrastructure. However, arguably the most costeffective way of doing this is to adopt a new approach, with datasharing at its heart. To give you an idea of the challenge we face, when Brexit finally happens, a country that’s spent four and a half decades
Border Security Report | May/June 2019
