Hauliers accuse Ministers of trying to shift blame for possible border chaos

LORRY DRIVERS will need permits to access Kent or face police action in a bid to avoid post- Brexit gridlock, the Government has said.

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said work is ongoing to avoid the possibility of 7,000- truck- long queues in the county caused by a lack of preparation for the end of the Brexit transition period this December.

Speaking in the Commons yesterday, Mr Gove said: “That system has been developed, it’s being shared with business and we want to make sure that people use a relatively simple process in order to get what will become known as a ‘ Kent- access permit’, which means that they can then proceed smoothly through Kent because they do have the material required.

“If they don’t have the material required then it’ll be the case that through policing, ANPR ( automatic number- plate recognition) cameras and other means that we’ll do our very best to ensure his constituents are not inconvenienced.”

But hauliers reacted angrily and accused Mr Gove of attempting to “shift blame” on to them and away from the Government.

Rob Hollyman, director of Essexbased haulage firm Young’s Transportation and Logistics, said: “We can’t possibly accommodate paperwork that we don’t know we need, because we haven’t been told.

“If the Government hasn’t made clear what paperwork is required then it’s not the ‘ idiot haulier’ ( to blame), it’s the ‘ idiot Government’.”