Truckers in Kent ‘passport’ alert
Gove reveals Brexit plan for county border
POLICE will turn lorries away from Kent unless they have a “passport” to enter the county from January, Michael Gove has warned.
The Cabinet Office Minister said policing and numberplate cameras will be used to enforce the Kent Access Permit, which creates an internal border in a bid to prevent queues tailing back from the port of Dover.
It comes after he warned queues of 7,000 lorries were possible when the Brexit transition period comes to an end if hauliers fail to prepare for customs changes.
Mr Gove, who is responsible for no-deal planning, wrote to logistics groups with the Government’s “reasonable worst- case scenario” planning.
It warns of possible two-day delays for cargo going to France in January.
But it is understood the “Kent passport” will be enforced whether there is a Brexit deal or not.
The European Union’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier arrived in London yesterday for further informal talks with his counterpart Lord Frost as efforts continue to strike a post-Brexit trade deal.
Asked by Ashford MP Damian Green about the prospect of tailbacks through Kent, Mr Gove said: “What we want to do is avoid the level of congestion that this reasonable worst-case scenario sets out.”
He added that if lorry drivers do not have the right paperwork, “it will be the case that through policing, cameras and other means, we’ll do our best to ensure constituents are not inconvenienced”.
Mr Gove revealed that just one in four businesses believe they are “fully ready” for the post-Brexit arrangements.
He added: “Indeed, 43% of businesses actually believe the transition period will be extended even though the deadline for any extension has now long passed and the date we leave the single market and customs union is fixed in law and supported across this House.”
Mr Gove said a Cabinet committee preparing for the end of the Brexit transition was meeting “almost daily”.
He said: “The consequences of a lack of business preparedness will be not just economic opportunities missed… but potentially much wider disruption.”
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Rachel Reeves said: “The news today that there could soon be tailbacks of 7,000 lorries is quite extraordinary.
“I know the Government has said that they are committed to building new infrastructure, but I didn’t realise it meant concreting over the Garden of England.
“Today’s warnings are based on a reasonable worst-case scenario, but given we have a reasonable worst-case Government, we have to assume that these scenarios will play out.”
A Government spokesperson said: “We are prioritising the smooth movement of HGVs through Kent.
“HGV drivers will be able to follow a simple process to get a Kent Access Permit using the newly developed Smart Freight webservice.”
They promised more detail soon.