New HMRC data raises UK hopes of end to Northern Ireland Brexit trade checks

Lorries leave the port of Larne. The EU has said that with political will from the UK a deal on the Northern Ireland protocol is in reach. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA

UK hopes that controversial Brexit checks on goods crossing the Irish sea can be eliminated have risen after early analysis of government data showed that at least 85% of goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain stay in factories or shops in the region.

The research comes from a new HM Revenue and Customs database, the EU Access system, that tracked the movement of 1m goods crossing the Irish Sea in 2021.