Brexit played role in Dover chaos, No 10 admits after Braverman blames bad weather and Easter

‘Obviously we recognise there are new processes in place,’ says Downing Street

No 10 has admitted that “new processes” brought in after Brexit has contributed to several days of travel chaos at the Port of Dover.

Suella Braverman was accused of being in “complete denial” after she claimed on Sunday it was unfair to say the huge hold-ups at Dover were “an adverse effect of Brexit”.

Despite recurring problems with gridlock in Kent in 2021 and 2022, the home secretary claimed checks were “operating very smoothly at the border” – blaming current woes on bad weather and it being “a very busy time of year”.

But Mr Sunak’s official spokesperson said “a combination of factors” were to blame, including new passport control processes, poor weather and the high volume of traffic at Easter.

Asked about the role of post-Brexit checks, the spokesperson acknowledged that French officials are now required to inspect and stamp every passport as passengers leave the UK.

“Obviously we recognise there are new processes in place,” they said on the manual checks.

“That’s why authorities were given a long time to prepare for the new checks including during the transition period, of course, and we are in discussion with our French counterparts about how we can further improve the flow of traffic.”

The No 10 officials said the government was “working with our French counterparts in increasing our ability to move traffic and passengers through freely”.

It comes as the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) called for “crisis talks” with the Rishi Sunak’s government, the Kent port and ferry companies to “resolve this mess once and for all”.

The coach operators’ body claimed their vehicles were “treated unfairly” after thousands of passengers were stranded in lengthy queues for up to 24 hours over the weekend.

The queues of travellers heading to Europe for Easter had cleared by Monday morning, but there are fears the congestion could return during other peak periods due to French border officials carrying out extra checks following Brexit.

The CPT claimed coaches were “held back behind cars and HGVs”, meaning some of their passengers were delayed for up to 24 hours. The travel body said it fears the situation “will only get worse” when the start of the summer holiday period arrives.

Keir Starmer said Brexit ‘has had an impact’ on cross-Channel journeys (PA)

CPT chief executive Graham Vidler said: “The procedures to enter the EU should not have a negative impact on people who don’t want to fly or drive by car to continental Europe.

“We’re calling on the government, the Port of Dover and ferry companies to get round the table with the coach sector to resolve this mess once and for all.”

Senior Tory MP Tim Loughton has claimed that a lack of staff at the French border control is to blame for delays at Dover – not Brexit. “It’s very fashionable to blame everything on Brexit,” he told Times Radio.

Mr Loughton, former chair of the home affairs select committee, said the lack of French border staff is causing the problems. “It’s because there were not sufficient border force people there from the French equivalent checking those passports.”

Coaches at the Port of Dover in Kent (PA)

Sir Keir Starmer said Brexit “has had an impact” on cross-Channel journeys after a weekend of disruption at the Port of Dover, urging the Sunak government to “get a grip”.

The Labour leader told LBC: “Of course Brexit has had an impact – there are more checks to be done. That doesn’t mean that I am advocating a reversal of Brexit, I am not. I have always said there is no case now for going back in.”

Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, the UK’s largest network of independent travel agents, described the situation at Dover as “distressing”, adding: “It is clear that the Brexit impact has not been adequately planned for.”

Doug Bannister, the port’s chief executive, has said it is “absolutely true” that queues at the port, first seen last summer, are a consequence of the UK’s exit from the EU.

Eurostar revealed earlier this year that it is forced to leave hundreds of seats empty on trains to and from London St Pancras to avoid long queues at stations.

The cross-Channel train operator said this is largely due to a reduction in the number of border officials, but also blamed the stamping of UK passports post-Brexit.

Asked about the possibility of further disruption ahead, Mr Sunak’s spokesperson said: “We’re working with the Kent resilience forum, who are responsible for plans and operation decisions, to cope with the potential for disruption and high volumes of traffic.

“We’re working with port authorities, the operators and the French government to keep any potential for disruption to a minimum.”