Covid Chaos in UK as France Bans All UK Freight

Miles of lorry queues and travel chaos were expected across southeastern part of UK on Monday after France announced a 48-hour ban on passengers and freight entering from the UK.

The prime minister, Boris Johnson, is to chair a Cobra meeting on Monday that will address "the steady flow of freight into and out of the UK", a number 10 spokesperson said, amid expected significant disruption at ports in the south-east.

 The European Union is to hold a similar crisis meeting today to coordinate its response to concerns about a fast-spreading new strain of Covid-19 after countries across the continent banned UK flight arrivals.

The UK transport secretary, Grant Shapps, warned of "significant disruption" following the snap travel ban that came into force on Sunday night. As a result of the announcement from Paris, Kent police implemented Operation Stack, where lorries will queue between junctions eight and 11 of the M20, southbound, to avoid gridlock on the county's roads.

Dover/Calais is a major UK/EU crossing point and we've already seen massive queues. Brexit stockpiling is one thing, the Christmas rush is another but to close borders for 48 hrs is a real hammer blow to the all-important supply chain ⁦@RHARodMcKenzie⁩ ⁦@SkyNews⁩ pic.twitter.com/C4Lru6McWh

— RHA News (@RHANews) December 20, 2020