Port of Dover declares critical incident as high levels of traffic caused lengthy delays
No 10 has admitted that “new processes” brought in after Brexit has contributed to several days of travel chaos at the Port of Dover.
It comes as the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) called for “crisis talks” with the Rishi Sunak’s government, the Kent port and ferry companies to “resolve this mess once and for all”.
The coach operators’ body claimed their vehicles were “treated unfairly” after thousands of passengers were stranded in lengthy queues for up to 24 hours over the weekend.
Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said “a combination of factors” were to blame, including poor weather, the high volume of traffic and the new passport control processes.
Asked about the role of post-Brexit checks, the spokesman acknowledged that French officials are now required inspect and stamp every passport as passengers leave the UK.
“Obviously we recognise there are new processes in place,” Mr Sunak’s spokesman said on the manual checks.
Earlier Dover officials hit back at claims made by the home secretary that it was “not fair” to blame disruption at the port on Brexit.
A spokesperson for the port said that processing times for each passenger had increased since Britain left the EU and it was a factor behind the disruption.
Simon Calder: Why Brexit is to blame for holiday traffic chaos at Dover
When it’s the start of the Easter holidays and you’re a transport hub and you’re trending on Twitter, you know things are not going well.
Thousands of coach passengers endured a miserable wait, many of them through the night. Factors as diverse as stormy weather and the French were blamed for preventing travellers from getting away on much-needed holidays.
Thousands of coach passengers endured a miserable wait, many of them through the night. Factors as diverse as stormy weather and the French were blamed for preventing travellers from getting away on much-needed holidays.
“Blame,” though, is the wrong term here. We got what we signed up after a democratic vote to leave the European Union and asking to become “third-country nationals” in the eyes of the EU.
Martha Mchardy3 April 2023 19:00
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