LONDON — The British government is being told to spell out whether new Brexit border checks will still be introduced in October.

Gareth Thomas, shadow trade minister for the opposition Labour Party, said the government’s handling of the issue had been “absolutely shambolic,” while business groups told POLITICO that firms desperately need guidance about whether the planned changes will go ahead in six weeks’ time.

Britain was planning to roll out the first stage of the new post-Brexit border model from October, with further stages implemented throughout 2024 that would see more checks on food and animal products entering the country from the European Union.

It was first reported by the Financial Times earlier this month that the government would delay the rollout of the Target Operating Model (TOM) amid fears that the new red tape will further fuel inflation.

The Cabinet Office, the government department leading on the plan, has said for the past three weeks that guidance will be soon given about the border regime, but none has been forthcoming.

Labour’s Thomas said: “With the deadlines for new checks just months away, it is unacceptable that businesses have not received a clear update from the government on whether the new border arrangements are even going to be introduced. The Tories’ trade barriers are stunting economic growth.”

William Bain, trade expert at business group the British Chambers of Commerce, said his group’s members “would have hoped to see the final version of the Border Target Operating Model by now.”

“That would have been well in advance of any proposed introduction of export health certificates for inbound products to [Great Britain] at the end of October,” he said.

Marco Forgione, head of fellow business group the Institute of Export & International Trade, warned that “continued delays will prolong this uncertainty for all those involved in the import of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) goods to the U.K., from the EU and the rest of the world.” 

Forgione also pointed out that British businesses will continue to be at a disadvantage to their EU competitors as long as the border system is not implemented.

The EU imposed full border checks on British imports when the U.K. left the single market and customs union in 2021.

 A Cabinet Office official told POLITICO the government will “imminently” publish the findings of its TOM consultation.

A government spokesperson said: “We are reflecting on the valuable feedback provided by a range of businesses and industry stakeholders and will publish the Border Target Operating Model shortly.” 

And a spokesperson for the governing Conservatives accused Labour of “just shouting from the sidelines with no plan yet again — the only trade they understand is ‘trade union.’”