Brexit to blame, says French MP after recent chaos at Dover
Two-hour queues through Dover as the summer getaway begins
Brexit is to blame for the long queues of traffic at the Port of Dover, a senior French politician has claimed in a move unlikely to endear him to the UK authorities.
And he also took a swipe at to port itself, describing the fact that, unlike ports on the continent, it is owned privately as “not optimal”.
George-Francois Leclerc, Prefet Du Nord for the Haut-de-France region which includes Calais, was speaking to French broadcaster BMFTV in a widely circulated clip recorded before more disruption at the port over the most recent weekend.
And he took the opportunity to mount a robust defence of his country’s handling of the situation, insisting things worsened as a direct result of the UK’s decision to quit the bloc in 2016.
Speaking about the weekend of June 21-22, Mr Leclerc, explained: “What happened yesterday? Three things. First, a serious accident at the M20 that you can verify.
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“Neither the British nor the French authorities are to blame.
“It was an accident that created an important traffic jam. I want to thank the French police for their work so British citizens could cross the border as easily as possible.”
In a direct reference to the decision to leave the EU, Mr Leclerc also stressed that “a port system is a system of solidarity”.
He explained: ”Passport control of every British citizen who crosses the border is necessary because Brexit happened.
“Before, it was only a simple identity card. Now, we need a passport check. It’s not the same.
“And thirdly, did the transport companies get as many reinforcements as the French police yesterday? I don’t think so.
“Yesterday, in fact, the French police arrived quickly after the accident. The full capacity, 15 lines open, was delayed by a bit more than an hour.
“So three reasons: the accident, Brexit and the way the port of Dover is handled, which is private, is not optimal.
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“We take our share of the responsibility, but the full responsibility is shared.”
Roughly 17,000 people passed through the Port of Dover on Saturday morning en route to France, with many ferry passengers waiting hours to get through traffic at the border.
Officials told people they were facing waits of up to two hours upon arrival at the port to clear passport control, which is run by the French Police Aux Frontieres.
Traffic jammed up along the A20 towards Folkestone for about five miles, with some congestion extending into the town and temporarily blocking an ambulance.
Overnight, officials urged travellers not to arrive more than three hours before their sail time.
Some drivers vented their frustration by honking their horns, with port officials saying shortly before 11am there were waits of 150 minutes.
These were reduced to 45 minutes by 2pm, with officials writing on Twitter: “The border processing time from arrival at the Port is 45 minutes with traffic flowing well – we thank you for your patience during a busy morning for summer travel.”
French police mobilised all of its border control staff, who stayed in UK hotels to avoid any gaps in shifts.
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