FRANCE closed its border to the UK over the first new strain of coronavirus this week. It was swift and there was nothing Britain could do. A second new strain of the virus had arrived by the time final negotiations over the post-Brexit trade deal were being acted out and, while the finality of the EU’s locked borders was not Brexit-related, it appeared as a kind of dark harbinger. The impact on Scottish food producers who export fresh and perishable goods such as seafood and salmon has been “absolutely disastrous” leading to a “black Christmas” for many, said David Thomson of the Food and Drink Federation Scotland.
Freight lorries wait to leave after being tested in Manston, Kent, after French authorities announced that journeys from the UK will be allowed to resume after the coronavirus ban was lifted, but those seeking to travel must have a negative test result A MAN has been arrested in Kent after lorry drivers stranded there by the French travel ban clashed with police. More than 6000 HGVs were held in the county, with drivers being tested for Covid-19 before they are allowed into France. There were reports yesterday of disturbances at Dover and the “lorry park” at Manston airfield, but the leader of Kent Council, Roger Gough, said the first 20 trucks had entered the Eurotunnel to make the crossing. A handful of police officers could be seen in film footage trying to push back a crowd of protesting drivers in Dover.
Lorry drivers and police clash as clearing port backlog will take days
Thousands of lorries are stuck in Kent and Dover after the French closed the border
Updated
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Lorry drivers have clashed with police in Kent as they continue to be held up by the French travel ban.