Business relief as trade deals helps smooth transition on first working day of Brexit

  • Watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Matthew Hudson

As hauliers hit the highways again after the Christmas break it was the first major test for UK ports since the end of the Brexit transition period on New Year's Eve. New rules mean that customs paperwork for lorry drivers is now needed as well as the recent requirements of a negative Covid test if travelling to France.

Law Farming at Thrift Farm near Royston covers seven square miles of countryside on the Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Essex border.

40% of the lambs are destined for export, almost all to EU countries and 90% percent of the grain exported from here will go to the same destinations.

So for farmer Robert Law the trade deal hammered out before Christmas was vitally important.

Everyone seemed to have an opinion on how life would start post-Brexit. No-one knew for sure.

The lorries queueing in Kent before Christmas after France closed its border because of fears about the new Covid strain reflected what many said would happen if no trade deal was reached.

Cambridgeshire-based hauliers Buffaload told ITV News Anglia that drivers weren't experiencing any issues but that some businesses seemed better prepared than others.

Maintaining efficient supply chains is key to so many of our region's companies. Knightley Carpentry and Building has been operating in Cambridge for 25 years. Access to building materials is vital to its success.