UK to spend millions on new border infrastructure

The UK government announced Sunday it will allocate over £700 million to manage its borders once the country leaves the European Union at the end of the year.

Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said the funding package will pay for new border control posts and expand the Border Force staff by an extra 500 people.

Gove suggested the measure will allow the UK to have "tough and secure borders", which was part of the Leave campaign's message during the EU referendum of 2016.

Of the total of £705 million ($890m), £235 million ($297m) will go into staffing and IT systems, and £470 million ($593m) into infrastructure set up to patrol new customs procedures.

Gove added that the investment would also ensure that businesses relying on cross border transit can continue as normal by the time the transition period ends on 31 December 2020.

By 1 January 2021 the UK will have left the single market and the EU customs union.