Lorry drivers clash with police as tensions rise over queues in Kent

Play Video

0:58

Lorry drivers clash with police as tensions boil over in Dover – video

Lorry drivers held in vast queues in Kent since Sunday have clashed with police after tensions began to spill over.

It came as the UK government said that, while testing for coronavirus has started, it may take the rest of the week to get the thousands of drivers waiting at the border through.

Footage from Wednesday morning showed a handful of police officers attempting to push back a small crowd of mostly men in Dover, where they have been forced to wait since French authorities closed the border in an attempt to stop the spread of the new coronavirus variant discovered in the UK.

Kent police said one man was arrested for obstructing a highway in Dover.

A spokesman added: “Officers on the ground at both locations are working with partner agencies to make sure those hoping to travel to the continent adhere to the latest government travel requirements regarding Covid testing.”

Some lorry drivers clashed with police early on Wednesday in Dover as they continued to be held up because of the impact of the now-lifted French travel ban.

As many as 10,000 lorries are estimated to be backed up around ports on England’s south coast, including at a lorry park at Manston airfield.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) warned there may be shortages of some fresh goods until the backlog of lorries is cleared. Andrew Opie, the BRC’s director of food and sustainability, said: “Until the backlog is cleared and supply chains return to normal, we anticipate issues with the availability of some fresh goods.”

While the border has reopened, the communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, told Sky News it could take a few days to clear the backlog because of the need to test drivers for Covid-19 before French authorities will allow them to cross. Testing started on Wednesday morning, the Department for Transport (DfT) said.

“The massive backlog of vehicles will take time to clear and hundreds of drivers run the risk of not getting home in time for Christmas,” said the chief executive of the Road Haulage Association (RHA), Richard Burnett.

The RHA put the number of vehicles in Kent and its surrounding areas, in lorry stops and at depots, at between 8,000 and 10,000. The DfT claimed the number was more like 5,000, though the government has previously vastly underestimated the scale of the queues.

“Whatever the number is, whether it is 4,000 or more, it is a significant number to work through,” Jenrick acknowledged as he advised hauliers not to travel to Kent.

Jenrick said drivers would receive rapid lateral flow tests, which can give results in about 30 minutes, followed by a PCR test if they come back positive. Those who return a second positive result would be offered “Covid-secure” hotel accommodation. Jenrick said he hoped HGVs would begin crossing the Channel on Wednesday morning.

The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has announced a temporary relaxation of drivers’ hours for hauliers, increasing the driving limit of nine hours to 11, to help them get through UK borders safely over the coming weeks.

French authorities relaxed their 48-hour ban on travel from the UK late on Tuesday evening, saying delivery drivers and other professionals who had to travel could cross the border into France again, provided they showed proof of a recent negative test.

France also said it would allow French and other EU travellers from Britain, along with British and third-country citizens with permanent French or EU residency, back into the country if they had a negative virus test in the preceding 72 hours. The border remains closed to British nationals for non-essential travel.

After two days of intensive talks with British and EU partners, the French transport minister, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, said besides PCR swab tests, faster lateral flow tests would be accepted by French authorities as long as they could detect the new variant.

While at least 40 countries have imposed similar bans because of the variant, believed to be up to 70% more contagious, the French restrictions were particularly damaging because the UK is heavily reliant on cross-Channel trade and transport links, especially for food at this time of year.

Djebbari said he was pleased with the arrangement. “The free flow of goods has been restored while preserving public health,” he said, adding that delivery drivers as a profession “should be saluted” and he trusted as many as possible would now be able to spend Christmas with their families.

Speaking on BFM TV on Wednesday, France’s Europe minister, Clément Beaune, said he was concerned by what the incident had revealed about Britain’s preparedness for an eventual no deal in ongoing Brexit talks.

“If there is a no deal there will be more checks and we are ready for that,” he said. “But we are worried by preparations on the British side of the Channel. When you see what’s happening there, the level of preparedness is not really great.”