Duty

Defra and UK Border Force warn travellers about strict customs rules

Holidaymakers could face fines of up to £5,000 for bringing certain goods into England, even if those items were purchased at the duty free section of your departure airport.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) released an update at the end of March, calling on travellers to “take a simple step to help protect GB from animal diseases”. It continued: “To protect our animals from the devastating effects of diseases like foot and mouth, it’s illegal to bring meats such as lamb, pork or beef or dairy products from the EU into GB in your luggage.

“This means items such as cheese, cured or raw meats, sandwiches and milk, including duty free purchases. Products will be seized and you risk fines.”

Restrictions are in place regarding bringing meat, dairy, fish and animal products, as well as fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds into Great Britain from overseas. Should you declare any prohibited food items to Border Force officers at customs, they will confiscate and dispose of them.

Additional guidance on Gov.uk cautions: “If you do not declare banned food products, you could be fined up to £5,000 (in England) or you could be prosecuted.” The regulations surrounding the importation of meat, dairy, fish and other animal products vary depending on the country of origin.

If you are returning from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, you are prohibited from bringing in any of the following:

• cheese, milk and dairy products like butter and yoghurt
• pork
• beef
• lamb
• mutton
• goat
• venison
• other products made from these meats, for example sausages

You can bring in the following for personal use:

• fish
• poultry, for example chicken, duck, goose and any other products made from these meats
• other animal products, for example eggs and honey

You can also bring in up to 2kg per person of powdered infant milk, infant food, or special food needed for medical reasons. You can only bring it in if it does not need to be refrigerated before use, and is in branded, unopened packaging (unless in current use).

If you’re coming from a country outside the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, you cannot bring any meat or meat products, or milk or milk-based products, except for powdered infant milk, infant food or special food needed for medical reasons.

You can bring in up to 2kg per person of:

• honey
• powdered infant milk, infant food, or special food (including pet food) needed for medical reasons – you can only bring it in if it does not need to be refrigerated before use, and is in branded, unopened packaging (unless in current use)
• live mussels or oysters
• snails – these must be preserved or shelled, cooked and prepared
• frogs’ legs – these must be the back (hind) part of the frog with the skin and internal organs removed
• insect protein

You can bring in up to 20kg per person in total of fish, including:

• fresh fish – must be gutted
• fish products
• processed fish – must be dried, cooked, cured or smoked
• lobsters
• prawns

Following the Carabao Cup final defeat by Manchester City earlier this month, defender William Saliba confirmed he would not be joining up with France because of an ankle injury.

His centre-back partner Gabriel then withdrew from the Brazil squad with a knee problem.

They were later joined by England forward Eberechi Eze (calf), Norway midfielder Martin Odegaard (knee) and Netherlands defender Jurrien Timber (groin) – who all missed the cup final defeat at Wembley through injury – as well as Belgium forward Leandro Trossard (hip).

After players joined up with their respective countries, five more from Arsenal withdrew – England trio Declan Rice (knock), Bukayo Saka (knock) and Noni Madueke (injured his knee against Uruguay) as well as Spain’s Martin Zubimendi (knee) and Ecuador’s Piero Hincapie (undisclosed).

Arteta said his players were “desperate” to play for their countries.

“When you are fit and available to play for the national team, you have to play,” he added.

“It makes us so proud that we had that many players in the national team.

“Players are desperate to play for their nation. I know how important it is to them. We are fully supportive of that and when we can do it, we do it.”

Premier League leaders Arsenal are in FA Cup quarter-final action on Saturday as they visit in-form Championship side Southampton (20:00 BST).

Arteta confirmed Eze will miss the game through injury, but Odegaard and Timber are in contention to return, while Madueke’s injury is not as bad as first feared and is a doubt.

Asked how many of those 11 players who withdrew from international duty will be available for selection against the Saints, Arteta added: “You will see. I will let you do the speculation. You can judge afterwards.

“We are in a position right now where we need to make the strongest line-up we possibly can to win every competition.

“We are two or three games away from the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is for us.”

Despite the show’s approach to make their actors unrecognisable you might remember some from big series

A Prime Video series that was dubbed ‘best show ever’ is finally returning with a whole new cast and approach, although there are still some faces that you might recognise.

Jury Duty is returning with a second season and a new set up, with the first episodes available to stream from March 20. Part social experiment, part reality series and part sitcom, the show is unlike most of what you’ve seen before.

According to its synopsis, Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat is a comedy series that captures a corporate offsite event at a family-owned hot sauce company from the perspective of Anthony, a recently hired temporary worker.

Unbeknownst to Anthony, the entire experience is staged. Every colleague around him is performing a role and each moment whether in conference rooms or during downtime has been meticulously orchestrated. As the founder prepares to step down, the getaway transforms into a clash between big corproate ambitions and small business values, with control of the company hanging in the balance.

While the premise of the show means that all the actors involved have to be unrecognisable to the one non-actor, there are actually a few faces you may have seen before. But who are they and what have they starred in that you may remember them from? Here’s all you need to know.

Jerry Hauck plays Doug, the CEO of Rockin Grandma’s Hot Sauce. He’s described as “a lovable papa bear with Big Dad Energy who cares deeply about the company he’s built and the people that work for it.” Hauck has had memorable small roles on huge shows including ER, Seinfeld, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Paradise.

Alex Bonifer stars as Doug’s son and heir apparent to the business, Dougie Jr. He is “well-meaning but directionless” who is suddenly handed huge responsibilities. Eagle-eyed viewers will recognise Bonifer from Kevin Can F*** Himself where he played the role of Neil.

Amy, of customer relations is played by Emily Pendergast who has a lot of experience in comedy TV. She starred in multiple episodes of Veep and Netflix sitcom Leanne. Meanwhile the eventually nicknamed Other Anthony, who is he company’s Assistant Sourcing Manager, is played by Rob Lathan who previously appeared in Inside Amy Schumer and has served as a writer on other sketch shows.

Comedian Rachel Kaly plays remote worker and web designer Claire. While her character might be obsessed with the series Bones, she herself has appeared on animated comedy Digman! and High Maintenance.

Straight talking Helen, from accounting who has been at the business from the very beginning alongside Doug, is played by Stephanie Hodge. She is one of the most experienced cast members with past credits including NCIS, Young Sheldon and Scandal. She also had starring roles in the 90s on Nurses and Unhappily Ever After.

Jackie, who works in distribution and logistics when not taking charge of her kids at home, is played by LaNisa Renee Frederick. She’s previously appeared in smaller roles on Brooklyn Nine Nine, The Goldbergs and Mom.

Jim Woods, who was a writer on The Last O.G. starring Tracy Morgan, and starred on Reno 911!. takes on the role of warehouse manager Jimmy. He may have once been the non P.C. employee but he’s working maybe a bit too hard to be a better version of himself.

Erica Hernandez plays Kate from sales and marketing, who often gives the impression she should have a leadership role herself. Hernandez previously starred in the drama series True Lies, based on the 1994 Arnold Schwarzenegger film as well as New Amsterdam.

The other half of Team Skate (Steve & Kate), Steve is a “confident salesman that plays the calmer yin to Kate’s high-strung yang.” He is played by Warren Burke who has appeared in 13 episodes of Family Reunion and eight episodes of Bigger.

Snack obsessed receptionist PJ, is played by Marc-Sully Saint-Fleur who you may have seen before in Steve Carrell starring Netflix comedy Space Force or his brief appearances in Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Good Place. There’s also HR manager Kevin who is the one who seemingly hires Anthony to be his assistant.

He is played by Ryan Perez. Perez is actually a seasoned comedy actor, writer and director. He has written for Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon while he has also directed Funny or Die shorts with Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart.

Ranch manager Marjorie who is looking after the company workers while on retreat is played by Blair Beeken. She most recently appeared in Apple’s hit sci-fi series Pluribus.

Jury Duty Presents Company Retreat is streaming on Prime Video.

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