Covid-19: Drivers urged to avoid ports as France shuts border
Published
image captionAll outbound traffic from Dover has been halted for 48 hours
Lorry drivers have been urged not to travel to ports in Kent, East Sussex and Hampshire after France closed its border with the UK for 48 hours.
In a bid to ease congestion towards Dover, Operation Stack has been activated on the coast-bound M20.
Passenger ferries and lorry freight bound for France have been suspended from Dover, Portsmouth and Newhaven.
However, speaking to BBC Radio 4, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said goods were still moving. Most of freight is not accompanied and that can still flow, of course, he said.
Kent lorry chaos could get WORSE: Officials are performing as few as 200 tests an hour - meaning 10,000 stranded truckers could take DAYS to clear threatening food shortages after clashes with police and blockades
Truckers try to force their way past police guarding Port of Dover as hundreds leave cabs and walk along road
Jeering and whistling with some shouting: Open the border , We just want to go home and F you, Boris!
France announced travel ban on all traffic from UK on Sunday night after emergence of new Covid-19 strain
Decision meant Port of Dover was dramatically closed to all freight vehicles leaving the UK for next 48 hours
Testing, testing! UK and France wrangle over screening regime for truckers to get Dover moving again after Brussels calls for end to border blockade as 4,000 more lorries head for Kent carpark
France announced travel ban on all traffic from UK on Sunday night after emergence of new Covid-19 strain
Decision meant Port of Dover was dramatically closed to all freight vehicles leaving the UK for next 48 hours
UK and France still trying to agree on measures to reopen the border as hundreds of lorries queue in Kent
EU today urged European nations to drop travel bans on UK but said travel to Britain should be discouraged
Boris Johnson plans to test ALL lorry drivers taking goods across Channel in bid to appease Macron - after blustering through pointless press conference without giving a single answer about when truckers will be allowed into France
Port of Dover in Kent was dramatically closed to all freight vehicles leaving the UK for the next 48 hours
Hauliers coming to UK will still be allowed but there are fears drivers won t travel to avoid being marooned
Countries including France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Poland have announced restrictions on UK travel
Comes after emergence of mutant strain of coronavirus in England which spreads quicker than predecessor
Empty supermarket shelves in Leamington as panic buying returns
It is despite repeated calls not to stockpile after a new variant of coronavirus caused France to stop freight travelling from the UK
Empty shelves at Sainsbury s in Leamington Spa. Image: Jacob King/PA Wire (Image: PA)
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