Currently, when UK businesses trade animal and plant products with the EU they get hit by post-Brexit red tape, while European firms are still able to export goods without full checks. British farmers say this means they get undercut by EU produce, without having the trade benefits of easy access to the single market.

The government said the reason behind the latest delay was that it was “mindful” it could have an impact on inflation. In other words, adding checks to food imported from the EU would push prices up.

It would be funny if it wasn’t so depressing