British MPs warn of traffic chaos at border due to poor planning

A LACK of contingency planning for customs after Brexit could result in ‘major border disruption’, the chairman of a UK parliamentary committee has warned.

Yvette Cooper MP has raised serious concerns about the British Government’s approach to Brexit and warns of ‘gridlock’ in Northern Ireland.

In a Home Affairs Committee report, Ms Cooper said: ‘As things stand, the government is running the risk of celebrating their first day of Brexit with the sight of queues of lorries stretching for miles in Kent [for the port of Dover], and gridlock on the roads of Northern Ireland.’

The report says keeping the ‘operational status quo’ for customs arrangements and staying in the customs union would cause the least disruption at the border.

It warned of the dangers of no deal being agreed, saying this would result in customs in the UK changing in a short space of time.

This would lead to a vast increase needed in capacity and processes at the border.

And it raised the possibility of traffic jams at ports similar to July 2015 when French ferry operators went on strike.

The report also criticised the lack of coordination across the British government, as it was unable to specify which minister is responsible for border planning. It called for a lead minister to oversee ‘this substantial body of work’.