This leaked report reveals the “Technological solutions” explored by Liam Fox to keep the border in Ireland open after Brexit

Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, told BuzzFeed News: “As with most technical/technological solutions to the Irish border, this proposal stumbles over the same issue: how do you differentiate between those people who play by the rules, those who don’t and those who simply decide not play whatsoever?

“Either you have a means of checking at the border, or you accept a certain level of smuggling and police it on the basis of random searches and intelligence gathering combined with behind the border raids.”

He added: “This proposal seems to embrace the whole lot. Behind the tech buzzwords, it suggests physical infrastructure in the form of cameras, special lanes for non-freight carrying cars, and weighing scales built into the road; heavily intrusive intelligence gathering in the form of facial recognition software deployed at the border; and an increased frequency in the random stop-and-search of vehicles.

“It’s difficult to see how this could be acceptable to Ireland, the EU and indeed the people who live on either side of the border. But it does show the lengths some are prepared to go to avoid taking difficult political decisions,” said Lowe.