Thread by @DmitryOpines

1/ "How can No-Deal cause disruption at Dover/Calais if only 1% of trucks will be physically inspected?"

For all the scoffing by Remainers, this is a valid question and the answer is far from intuitive.

I'll try to explain through the only medium I know: the tortured analogy.

2/ Have you ever flown into Heathrow or Gatwick airport?

You might recognize a scene like this.

A very long line full of foreigners, moving slowly forward while the UK and EU citizens line moves far more quickly beside it.

Why is one moving faster than the other?

3/ As a British citizen, you only need one document to pass border control: your passport.

Being a foreigner only adds two required documents: a visa (sometimes) and a landing card. However, these documents and the greater level of scrutiny they suffer make all the difference.

4/ Arriving at Heathrow, even if my visa is valid, my passport correct and my landing card flawlessly filled in, my interaction with customs lasts several minutes longer than that of a UK citizen.

I get asked some questions. A determination is made about how truthful I've been.

5/ The same thing will happen when trucks moving between the UK and EU are suddenly required to carry, present and have scrutinized the additional documentation leaving the Single Market entails.

More documents. More scrutiny. More time. Always.

6/ As everyone from government reports to port operators and the Road Haulage Association have warned, these extra few minutes per truck risks grinding the crossing to a crawl.

Note: Great chart in last tweet was from @AnnaJerzewska whom you should all follow.

7/ The 1% customs inspections refers to physically checking the contents of a truck, not these basic documentary checks which will apply to everyone.

At Heathrow, I presume less than 1% face the visa equivalent: an extended interview/discussion/interrogation with Border Force.

8/ What about pre-filling forms online and technological solutions?

Well, UK airports do have a registered traveller program. I submitted a form online, waited a while to be vetted, paid an annual fee and can now use the electronic gates.

Seems like a great solution, right?

9/ Not quite.

The trade equivalent of registered traveler is called 'Authorized Economic Operator.'

It can take months to register, the costs are very high and few firms can meet the requirements.

10/ But surely other countries who aren't in Single Markets with their neighbors manage this?

They do. Most will tell you it sucks, but they manage. Norway and Sweden, Switzerland and the EU, they all endure the delays this causes.

The difference is volume and disruption.

11/ The sheer scale of truck based transport between the UK and EU makes this problem terrifying.

Beyond that, the UK economy has evolved over the last few decades with frictionless trade embedded into its DNA in a way other economies haven't.

12/ Cars can be built to work just fine without computers in them, but try ripping the computer out of a modern car designed around it and see how far you get.

That's what ending the Single Market overnight is. /Thread