Lorry drivers in Kent have spent a second night sleeping in their vehicles waiting for the border with France to reopen – as politicians thrash out a plan to restart trade and travel.
France shut the border for 48 hours on Sunday over the UK’s new virus variant. The government said 945 lorries were stacked up near Dover on Monday night – but the number now seems to be much higher, said BBC reporter Simon Jones.
Other European countries are talking about how to coordinate their response. More than 40 countries have now banned UK arrivals amid fears over the coronavirus mutation, which now can be found across the UK.
Measures agreed between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron will be announced later and come into effect from Wednesday, French Europe Minister Clément Beaune said.
European Union member states will meet again in Brussels to discuss a co-ordinated response, including pooling expertise about the dangers posed by the new variant, our Europe correspondent Kevin Connolly said.
Dozens of countries, including Spain, France and India, banned UK flights after parts of England, including London, entered tough tier four – “stay at home” – restrictions.
- EU member states are understood to be pressing for UK arrivals to be tested for the virus before entering their countries
- Supermarkets seek to reassure shoppers Christmas supplies are plentiful amid reports of bare shelves and long queues
- Northern Ireland’s Executive votes against introducing a travel ban between NI and England, Scotland and Wales
- The UK’s top scientist warns the new variant is now “everywhere” – and more areas may need to enter tier four to curb its spread
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said there was “zero evidence at this point” that the new variant of coronavirus discovered in the UK causes “any increase in severity associated with” Covid-19.
It urged the public to continue with measures known to reduce the spread: hand washing, social distancing, and wearing face coverings.
Royal Mail said it has temporarily suspended all mail services to Europe, with the exception of the Republic of Ireland, due to travel restrictions.
The disruption also affected passenger services – with many air, rail and sea services cancelled between the UK and France, as well as other countries that have put restrictions in place.
Rail operator Eurotunnel said it hoped passengers would be able to travel between the UK and France from Wednesday or Thursday, if a solution is agreed.
British Airways said it would operate “a reduced and dynamic schedule” amid the uncertainty.
The Channel is a vital trade route, with about 10,000 lorries a day travelling between Dover and Calais at Christmas, largely bringing in the freshest produce.
On Monday evening, Highways England said that “because of heavy freight numbers heading to the Channel Tunnel and port of Dover”, the M20 was closed and would not reopen until 08:00 GMT on Tuesday.
It said many vehicles would be held at Manston Airport as an earlier “stacking” operation on the motorway was wound down.
One lorry driver, who had been in his cab for two days, told the BBC on Tuesday morning: “What can I say? I feel bad, really bad, terrible in fact. We know nothing, we don’t know if we can get home [to] our families for Christmas.
“If they implement testing here, maybe it will be a good idea. But we need to start now, to get there [by] Christmas Eve.”
About 1,550 lorries crossed into the UK through the port on Monday but retailers warned of “serious disruption” without a resolution, with Tesco and Sainsbury’s saying some fresh produce such as lettuce and citrus fruits could run short.
But Mr Johnson maintained delays only affected a very small percentage of food entering the UK and supermarket supply chains were “strong and robust”.
Labour said spare capacity in the coronavirus testing system should be used to help deal with the situation at British ports.
The UK’s chief scientific adviser told the Downing Street briefing that further restrictions are likely to be introduced in more areas of England to control the new variant of Covid-19.
Sir Patrick Vallance said measures could “need to be increased in some places, in due course, not reduced”.
London and large swathes of south-east England were placed in the highest tier four restrictions over the weekend.
Sir Patrick also predicted there would be a spike in cases after an “inevitable period of mixing” over Christmas.
Asked why tougher measures were not in place across the country following the introduction of the tier 4 level, he added: “The evidence on this virus is that it spreads easily. It’s more transmissible. We absolutely need to make sure we have the right level of restrictions in place.”
Investors reacted badly to news of the new variant, with shares in leading companies falling during trading in London on 21st December.
It comes as a further 33,364 positive coronavirus tests were recorded in the UK. There were also a further 215 deaths within 28 days of testing positive, bringing the nation’s total to 67,616.
Source: bbc.com
