New: PM criticises border closure and is “working” to a solution
The Prime Minister has criticised the French government’s decision to block freight from the UK, saying the risk of truck drivers transmitting the new mutant strain of Covid-19 is “very low.”
He said he was “working to a solution” and had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron.
Read more: All EU countries ban UK travellers until midnight tomorrow
The Government has confirmed that it has opened up a number of reserve car parks, including Manston Airport, to reduce congestion across Kent.
The PM later confirmed he was looking to resolve these issues “in next few hours.”
Dover has been effectively shut all day, putting serious pressure on just-in-time supply chains.
Boris Johnson said the risk from a “solitary driver sitting alone in the cab are really very low.”
The disruption has been particularly damaging as many firms had been stockpiling ahead of a no-deal Brexit.
The mutant strain first emerged in London and the South East and is believed to be up to 70 more transmittable than the ‘original’ strain.
A number of EU countries have banned UK travellers, and freight drivers, from crossing the border in an effort to suppress the new form of Covid-19.