Coronavirus Britain
Tempers flare as thousands remain stranded near port
Drivers fume as France puts up partial blockade to curb virus variant
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Empty lanes at the English port of Dover on Monday. Paris and London agreed late on Tuesday that drivers carrying a negative test result could board ferries for Calais from yesterday after much of the world shut its borders to Britain to contain the new variant of the coronavirus, but a British minister warned that it would take time to clear the backlog.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
DOVER • Lorry drivers scuffled with the police and sounded their horns in protest around the English port of Dover as a partial blockade by France designed to contain a highly infectious coronavirus variant angered thousands stranded before Christmas.
Paris and London agreed late on Tuesday that drivers carrying a negative test result could board ferries for Calais from yesterday after much of the world shut its borders to Britain to contain the new mutated variant.
A British minister said the military would start testing drivers but he warned that it would take time to clear the backlog, hammering Britain's most important trade route for food just days before it leaves the European Union's orbit.
Long queues of lorries have been stacked on a motorway towards the Eurotunnel and Dover in the south-east county of Kent, while others have been parked on the former nearby airport at Manston.
"They don't give us food, they don't give us drinks, they don't give us sanitation, they don't offer us anything," said Spanish lorry driver Sergio Robles, 41.
Britain's retail industry lobby group warned that problems could crop up with the availability of some fresh goods.
"Until the backlog is cleared and supply chains return to normal, we anticipate issues with the availability of some fresh goods," said Mr Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium.
Television footage showed lorry drivers honking their horns and flashing lights in unison to protest.
As tempers flared in Dover, there were brief scuffles between drivers - angered that they will not be able to get home to their families before Christmas - and a small number of police officers.
The Road Haulage Association (RHA), which estimated there were up to 10,000 lorries held up in Kent, said the situation was chaotic as the testing system was not yet ready.
"What we've got this morning are very angry truckers in Dover," Mr Rod McKenzie, managing director of policy for the RHA, told BBC TV. "They're tired, frustrated and desperately want to get home for Christmas."
Normally, between 7,500 and 8,500 lorries travel via the port every day but volumes have reached more than 10,000 recently.
Some of the extra traffic was a result of Christmas demand, but many were in the country to deliver goods to companies which are stockpiling parts before Britain finally leaves the EU on Dec 31, a move that is expected to cause further disruption next month when a full Customs border comes into force.
Logistics firms have also warned that many European drivers have already refused to go to Britain in the new year when they will have to carry Customs paperwork, and that the need to secure a Covid-19 test will further compound the situation, pushing up freight prices.
REUTERS
