Dover traffic delays - live: French MP blames Brexit for chaos as queues form for second day
Busiest travel weekend since 2019 kicks off as school holidays begin
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French politician Pierre-Henri Dumont, Republican MP for Calais, has blamed the UK’s exit from the EU for the travel chaos, as holidaymakers joined lengthy queues in Dover for the second day running.
Mr Henri Dumont told BBC News it was “an aftermath of Brexit” with more checks needed and claiming the Dover port is “too small” with too few kiosks due to lack of space.
However, Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss blamed the delays on a lack of staffing by the French at the border. The foreign secretary said the delays and queues were “unacceptable” and called on France to act over the “entirely avoidable” delays.
It comes after travellers got stuck in queues for up to six hours in the Port of Dover on Friday at the start of the summer school holidays – which led to the port declaring a “critical incident”.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “As the schools closed their doors fully yesterday, Saturday could prove busier still this weekend.
“Drivers should continue to expect disruption and delays on major holiday routes to the south-west, eastern coast and ports of Dover and Folkestone.
“While many have decided to go at the start of the summer holidays, between now and the beginning of September when schools return, each Friday and Saturday will be busy on our roads because these are the main switchover days for holiday lets.”
Port of Dover gridlock – in pictures
‘Now Brexit effects on cross-Channel travel are clearly seen’
Brexit made the gridlock at Dover port “inevitable,” writes travel correspondent Simon Calder.
He points out that Friday – when the school holidays started – is the first real peak weekend for cross-Channel travellers since the Brexit transition phase ended right before the Covid pandemic.
“Which is why only now are we able to see clearly the results of the choice that we made in the 2016 EU referendum,” he says.
You can read his article here in full:
Why Brexit made Dover gridlock inevitable
Exclusive: From ‘Amber Plus’ to ‘Critical Incident’: the leavers’ lesson that was bound to happen
How long should travellers allow to clear Dover port security?
Ferry operator P&O Ferries has advised passengers to allow at least five hours to clear the approach roads and security checks.
The ferry company said on Friday evening it expects Saturday to be “just as busy”.
The AA said its latest data showed other ports, such as Portsmouth and Newhaven ferry ports, were running reasonably smoothly. The RAC said an estimated 18.8 million leisure trips are planned in the UK between Friday and Monday.
Truss calls on France to act over ‘entirely avoidable’ delays at Dover
Liz Truss has called on France to act over “entirely avoidable” delays at the border as holidaymakers and lorry drivers face another day of gridlocked roads around Dover.
The foreign secretary said the delays and queues were “unacceptable”, blaming a lack of staffing by the French at the border. But a French politician blamed Brexit for the chaos.
Pierre-Henri Dumont, Republican MP for Calais, said the problems at the Kent port would reoccur, telling BBC News: “This is an aftermath of Brexit. We have to run more checks than before.”
A “critical incident” was declared by the port due to the queues, with tourists urged to consider staying away, and warnings that Saturday may be just as bad.
In a statement, Tory leadership hopeful Ms Truss said: “This awful situation should have been entirely avoidable and is unacceptable.
“We need action from France to build up capacity at the border to limit any further disruption for British tourists and to ensure this appalling situation is avoided in future.
“We will be working with the French authorities to find a solution.”
The chief executive of the Port of Dover said being “let down” by poor resourcing at the French border was “immensely frustrating”.
Why Brexit made Dover gridlock inevitable
Pure Brexit took effect at 11pm, British time, on 31 December 2020. So why should the decision to leave the European Union suddenly be afflicting travellers who want to return to the EU, albeit temporarily on holiday?
Because this is the first real peak weekend for cross-Channel travellers from Dover since the Brexit transition phase ended.
The Channel crunch would have happened a year ago, were it not for the bizarre “amber plus” decision. This time last July the normal flood of British holidaymakers heading across to France reduced to a trickle as a result of the UK government’s invention of a new mandatory quarantine category for people returning back across the Channel.
Travellers from “amber” nations on the “traffic light” scale, including France, Spain and most of our other European favourites, were set to go quarantine-free as the main school holidays began for families in England and Wales.
But at 4am on 19 July 2021, France was placed in a newly created and short-lived category that required 10 days of self-isolation. Days before what would have been the peak weekend for departures, hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers tore up their plans to head across the Channel.
Simon Calder reports.
Why Brexit made Dover gridlock inevitable
Exclusive: From ‘Amber Plus’ to ‘Critical Incident’: the leavers’ lesson that was bound to happen
‘We’re expecting long, long delays’, says Tory MP
Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke has told Sky News that people heading to Dover could expect “long, long delays” on Saturday and blamed French border police for the chaos.
'Brexit to blame’ for travel gridlock at Dover, union says
This weekend’s traffic chaos in Dover is a “predictable” consequence of Brexit as France “takes back control” of its border, an immigration union chief has said.
An emergency incident has been declared at the Kent port as long queues are expected following queues of up to six hours on Friday and thousands of families attempt to get away at the start of the summer holiday season.
The gridlock has been blamed on a shortage of border control staff on the French side of the Channel.
But Immigration Services Union general secretary Lucy Moreton said that disruption of this kind was only to be expected following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
Andrew Woodcock reports.
‘Brexit to blame’ for travel gridlock at Dover, union says
EU withdrawal means France has ‘taken back control’ of its border
Labour accuses government of being ‘absent’ over Dover gridlock
Labour’s Nick Thomas-Symonds has accused the government of being “absent”, amid another day of gridlocked roads around Dover.
The shadow secretary of state for international trade told Times Radio: “What we really do need to see is a Government that is taking a grip of this situation.
“The Government has not been planning in advance. We were urging the Government, for example, some months ago to negotiate a veterinary agreement to reduce the number of checks. The Government has not done that, has not put the planning in place and yet again, we have a crisis where the Government is absent.”
He also hit out at Tory leadership candidates, telling the programme: “They’re now contained once again, in their own infighting whilst we have something like this critical incident we’ve been discussing in Dover where their focus is elsewhere.”
PA
Travellers can expect ‘very busy day’ on Saturday at Dover, says port chief
Travellers can expect another “very busy day” at Dover, the port’s chief executive has said.
Doug Bannister said some 10,000 cars are expected to be processed going out of the port on Saturday, up on Friday’s figure.
Asked if there could be five to six-hour delays for people at the port again on Saturday, he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “It could be. We were expecting that today was going to be a busier day than yesterday.
“Yesterday we processed about 8,500 cars going out. Today we were predicted to be around 10,000 so it is going to be a very busy day down here.”
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