Art imitates life – and a TV drama has taken us from comic-book crime to concrete corruption, shining a light on the truth behind the UK’s free ports.

In the finale of the first season of Daredevil: Born Again, the villain—now Mayor of New York—reveals a sinister plan to establish a “free port” as the hub for a sprawling criminal empire. If it sounds a little far-fetched, then brace yourself:

Here in the UK, freeports aren’t fiction. They’re policy. And they’re already causing very real damage.

While Daredevil uses the idea of a deregulated customs zone as a narrative device for corruption and organised crime, the UK government under the Conservatives—and now, disturbingly, with the support of Keir Starmer’s Labour government—have rolled out these real-world equivalents with reckless enthusiasm.

Why would any government want to copy the bad guy’s plan?

What is a free port – and why should you be worried?

A free port is a designated area—often near a port or airport—where normal tax and customs rules do not apply.

Goods can be imported, stored, and even processed without triggering import duties unless they actually enter the domestic economy.

Sounds technical, right? But here’s what it really means:

• Tariff-free trade for corporations

• Publicly funded infrastructure gifted to private developers

• Looser regulations that can hurt workers and undermine environmental standards

• Internal customs borders that complicate domestic trade—yes, like the Northern Ireland Protocol, but voluntarily created 12 more times in the UK (so far)

And in practice? It opens the door to corruption.

It rewards the super-rich and well-connected while squeezing taxpayers and workers.

And the so-called “boost” to the economy? More often than not, it’s just businesses relocating to dodge tax, not new opportunities being created.

Teesside: the real-life Daredevil plot twist

The Teesside Freeport scandal reads like a Daredevil subplot in itself.

Millions of pounds in public assets—land and scrap metal—have allegedly been siphoned off to private developers for next to nothing: £100 million worth of land sold for £100. That’s not a typo.

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Private Eye reports suggest a “sweetheart” deal where private firms took over a majority share in the project at no cost, while continuing to benefit from public borrowing. The board meant to govern this—chaired by Tory Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen—rubber-stamped it all.

Even when a so-called “independent inquiry” was launched, the government refused to let the National Audit Office investigate. Why? Perhaps because the remit of the inquiry pointedly excludes the question of corruption.

Worse still, investors like BP and Equinor have demanded guarantees that nothing criminal has taken place—a move that speaks volumes about the stink surrounding the whole project.

Meanwhile, the official in charge of the Teesside Freeport conveniently quit the same day the inquiry was announced.

Daredevil isn’t fiction any more

The narrative of a free port being used for organised crime isn’t just fantasy. It’s a warning—and in the UK, it’s one we’re ignoring.

The Daredevil scriptwriters may not have had Teesside in mind when they penned their plot, but the parallels are uncanny.

They’re showing us the logical end-point of a policy that removes oversight, centralises wealth, and rewards secrecy.

It’s art holding up a mirror to politics. And what it reflects is ugly.

Labour’s complicity

The most galling part? Labour under Keir Starmer is not reversing the Conservatives’ freeport policy.

Instead, the new government appears to be rolling with it—despite the fact that it amounts to publicly funded tax havens on British soil.

Freeports aren’t levelling up the UK economy. They’re sucking resources out of it, under the guise of investment.

They’re a legal playground for profiteers, offered up by governments who no longer seem interested in safeguarding the public interest.

What can be done?

1. End the expansion of freeports – Stop creating new ones and review existing ones for legal and ethical breaches.

2. Launch a full, independent corruption investigation – Not a whitewash. Let the National Audit Office and the Serious Fraud Office in.

3. Reverse asset transfers – Land and infrastructure gifted under suspicious circumstances must be reclaimed for public ownership.

4. Introduce transparency legislation – Shine a light on all government-private dealings in these zones.

5. Make it an election issue – The public must demand accountability. Remember Mr Bates vs the Post Office? Let’s do it again—with Teesside and the other free port projects.

When a Marvel drama can show more moral clarity than your government, you know something’s gone deeply wrong.

Daredevil may wear a mask, but our leaders are the ones hiding – behind jargon; behind complexity; and behind inquiries that promise nothing.

Let’s rip off the mask—and expose free ports for what they are: another way to rip us off.