UK’s Port of Dover, the country’s main gateway to Europe, was declared “critical” on Saturday after “woefully inadequate” French border control staffing triggered more than six-hour-long queue for travellers as they tried to escape for the summer holidays.

Passengers heading towards Dover port have been asked to stock up with “water, food and supplies” and expect continued long congestion in the coming days in view of “inadequate French border capacity”.

According to reports, less than half of the port’s nine passport booths were staffed early on Friday morning, leading to chaos and long queues for the rest of the day.

According to the Financial Times newspaper, Dover officials were “deeply frustrated” at the level of resources provided by the French Police aux Frontières (PAF).

In a statement, Doug Bannister, CEO of Dover Port, expressed regret at the PAF for not providing adequate officers despite request.

Traffic flows had improved during the day as more French staff came on stream, he added, but “we do still have a heck of a backlog to get through.”

The UK passengers are bound to face enhanced border checks by the French officials in the aftermath of Brexit.

A local French police body told the Reuters news agency that the delay was due to an "unexpected technical incident" at the Channel Tunnel. It failed to describe what that “technical incident” was.

The French embassy in London later tweeted that all border checks were operating at full capacity.

Meanwhile, Liz Truss, Britain's foreign secretary who is campaigning to replace Boris Johnson, said the "awful situation" was unacceptable, and called on France to increase the capacity.

"We need action from France to build up capacity at the border to limit any further disruption for British tourists and to ensure this appalling situation is avoided in future," she said in a statement.

(With inputs from agencies)

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UK’s Port of Dover, the country’s main gateway to Europe, was declared “critical” on Saturday after “woefully inadequate” French border control staffing triggered more than six-hour-long queue for travellers as they tried to escape for the summer holidays.

UK’s Port of Dover, the country’s main gateway to Europe, was declared “critical” on Saturday after “woefully inadequate” French border control staffing triggered more than six-hour-long queue for travellers as they tried to escape for the summer holidays. Passengers heading towards Dover port have been asked to stock up with “water, food and supplies” and expect continued long congestion in the coming days in view of “inadequate French border capacity”. According to reports, less than half of the port’s nine passport booths were staffed early on Friday morning, leading to chaos and long queues for the rest of the day. According to the Financial Times newspaper, Dover officials were “deeply frustrated” at the level of resources provided by the French Police aux Frontières (PAF). In a statement, Doug Bannister, CEO of Dover Port, expressed regret at the PAF for not providing adequate officers despite request. Traffic flows had improved during the day as more French staff came on stream, he added, but “we do still have a heck of a backlog to get through.” The UK passengers are bound to face enhanced border checks by the French officials in the aftermath of Brexit. A local French police body told the Reuters news agency that the delay was due to an "unexpected technical incident" at the Channel Tunnel. It failed to describe what that “technical incident” was. The French embassy in London later tweeted that all border checks were operating at full capacity. Meanwhile, Liz Truss, Britain's foreign secretary who is campaigning to replace Boris Johnson, said the "awful situation" was unacceptable, and called on France to increase the capacity. "We need action from France to build up capacity at the border to limit any further disruption for British tourists and to ensure this appalling situation is avoided in future," she said in a statement. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Chaos at UK’s Dover port as travellers wait in queue for over 6 hours

The UK's Dover Port has declared a critical emergency over long delays and a heavy traffic jam. The port CEO said had that he has now urged travellers to consider holding off heading for the port at the point in time until more is known.

Travellers complain of hours-long wait at UK's Dover Port

Britain deployed additional military personnel to the port of&nbsp;Dover&nbsp;on Friday to help clear the queues of lorries following the resumption of cross-channel travel for drivers who test negative for COVID-19.

Several thousand cargo trucks have been trapped for days around the southern English port of&nbsp;Dover&nbsp;since France closed borders with the UK in a bid to stop the spread of a new coronavirus strain.

Hundreds of lorries arrived at the French port of Calais on Friday as authorities scrambled to ease a bottleneck in Britain, where thousands of drivers have been stuck for days after France imposed tougher coronavirus rules.

Traffic was moving only slowly through the port on Friday, a public holiday. Most trucks were still parked further up the motorway as drivers waited to take tests before being allowed to board the cross-channel ferries.

British transport minister Grant Shapps said on Twitter on Friday more than 10,000 coronavirus tests had been carried out on lorry drivers and only 24 of them had tested positive.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Update on Kent lorry situation: Over 10,000 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Coronavirus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Coronavirus</a> tests now carried out. Just 24 positive (0.24%). 
 
A huge thank you for the tireless efforts of our troops, police, civilian testers, council planners &amp; port &amp; ferry workers for giving up their Xmas to get people home.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) <a href="https://twitter.com/grantshapps/status/1342466329144659969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 25, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Soldiers were checking vehicles and drivers' documents at the entrance to the port and French officials, in&nbsp;Dover&nbsp;to help clear the backlog, were seen administering a nasal swab to a driver.

An additional 800 British troops have now been deployed to the port, on top of the 300 sent initially, British media reported.

The French and British governments agreed to end the blockade late on Tuesday but the long lines of trucks are expected to take days to clear, British authorities have said.

More than 700 hauliers have been cleared for departure since France reopened its border, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Britain deployed additional military personnel to the port of Dover on Friday to help clear the queues of lorries following the resumption of cross-channel travel for drivers who test negative for COVID-19.

Britain deployed additional military personnel to the port of Dover on Friday to help clear the queues of lorries following the resumption of cross-channel travel for drivers who test negative for COVID-19. Several thousand cargo trucks have been trapped for days around the southern English port of Dover since France closed borders with the UK in a bid to stop the spread of a new coronavirus strain. Hundreds of lorries arrived at the French port of Calais on Friday as authorities scrambled to ease a bottleneck in Britain, where thousands of drivers have been stuck for days after France imposed tougher coronavirus rules. Traffic was moving only slowly through the port on Friday, a public holiday. Most trucks were still parked further up the motorway as drivers waited to take tests before being allowed to board the cross-channel ferries. British transport minister Grant Shapps said on Twitter on Friday more than 10,000 coronavirus tests had been carried out on lorry drivers and only 24 of them had tested positive. Update on Kent lorry situation: Over 10,000 #Coronavirus tests now carried out. Just 24 positive (0.24%). A huge thank you for the tireless efforts of our troops, police, civilian testers, council planners & port & ferry workers for giving up their Xmas to get people home. — Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) December 25, 2020 × Soldiers were checking vehicles and drivers' documents at the entrance to the port and French officials, in Dover to help clear the backlog, were seen administering a nasal swab to a driver. An additional 800 British troops have now been deployed to the port, on top of the 300 sent initially, British media reported. The French and British governments agreed to end the blockade late on Tuesday but the long lines of trucks are expected to take days to clear, British authorities have said. More than 700 hauliers have been cleared for departure since France reopened its border, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported.

UK deploys more troops at Dover port to ease channel logjam by truckers

UK retail industry said that some fresh food is likely to run out as thousands of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-france-reopens-border-truckers-scuffle-with-police-in-uk-over-covid-19-test-351807">trucks</a> continue to remain stuck along the France-UK border despite reopening of operations.

Watch:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/news-alert-stranded-travellers-truck-drivers-clash-with-policemen-at-britains-dover-port-351833/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

France had decided to reopen the border after lengthly negotiations as the UK announced a new strain of coronavirus which was 70 per cent more transferable.

Thousands of trucks still remain stuck as authorities continue COVID-19 tests as authorities said three truckers have tested positive for COVID-19 who are in queue to leave England even as trucks began leaving English port of Dover.

According to Britain's Department of Transport, at least &nbsp;6,000<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/plenty-of-food-uk-trucks-stranded-along-french-border-as-new-coronavirus-strain-leads-to-border-closure-351629"> trucks</a> were waiting early Wednesday evening to cross the border including 3,750 vehicles parked at the old Manston airport which is also a coronavirus testing site.

UK transport minister Grant Shapps said: "As testing in Kent continues... I've spoken to my French counterpart (Jean-Baptiste Djebbari) and we've agreed the UK/French border at Eurotunnel, Dover &amp; Calais WILL remain open throughout Xmas in order to help hauliers &amp; citizens return home as soon as possible."

Several truckers have said that they will now be forced to spend Christmas on the road as the pace of testing remains slow even as the military began operations late on Wednesday.

French firefighters arrived early Thursday in Dover with 10,000 tests to help their British counterparts as the logjam at the border continued on Thursday. Transport minister Shapps said 2,367 tests had been carried out

"As the EU Transport Commissioner (Adina Valean) has tweeted, testing hauliers is not recommended. Spending days in a lorry on your own puts you in an extremely low risk category!" Shapps said.

The tuckers were involved in na scuffle with UK police as frustration boiled over the slow progress of clearing the huge backlog at the border with no apparent deadline as reports said it could take days to clear as testing and results would be needed to each driver even as the UK entered into an agreement with the EU on<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/deal-is-done-uk-clinches-brexit-agreement-with-eu-ahead-of-december-31-deadline-352125">&nbsp;Brexit</a>.

UK retail industry said that some fresh food is likely to run out as thousands of trucks continue to remain stuck along the France-UK border despite reopening of operations.

UK retail industry said that some fresh food is likely to run out as thousands of trucks continue to remain stuck along the France-UK border despite reopening of operations. Watch: France had decided to reopen the border after lengthly negotiations as the UK announced a new strain of coronavirus which was 70 per cent more transferable. Thousands of trucks still remain stuck as authorities continue COVID-19 tests as authorities said three truckers have tested positive for COVID-19 who are in queue to leave England even as trucks began leaving English port of Dover. According to Britain's Department of Transport, at least 6,000 trucks were waiting early Wednesday evening to cross the border including 3,750 vehicles parked at the old Manston airport which is also a coronavirus testing site. UK transport minister Grant Shapps said: "As testing in Kent continues... I've spoken to my French counterpart (Jean-Baptiste Djebbari) and we've agreed the UK/French border at Eurotunnel, Dover & Calais WILL remain open throughout Xmas in order to help hauliers & citizens return home as soon as possible." Several truckers have said that they will now be forced to spend Christmas on the road as the pace of testing remains slow even as the military began operations late on Wednesday. French firefighters arrived early Thursday in Dover with 10,000 tests to help their British counterparts as the logjam at the border continued on Thursday. Transport minister Shapps said 2,367 tests had been carried out "As the EU Transport Commissioner (Adina Valean) has tweeted, testing hauliers is not recommended. Spending days in a lorry on your own puts you in an extremely low risk category!" Shapps said. The tuckers were involved in na scuffle with UK police as frustration boiled over the slow progress of clearing the huge backlog at the border with no apparent deadline as reports said it could take days to clear as testing and results would be needed to each driver even as the UK entered into an agreement with the EU on Brexit.

Trucks remain stranded at UK-French border as 3 drivers test COVID-19 positive

As France decided to reopen its border with<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/new-coronavirus-fears-britain-france-transport-ban-eased-351688"> Britain</a> after it was closed following the announcement of a new virus strain by PM Johnson, truck drivers scuffled with police as they were told only those carrying a negative COVID-19 test result could board ferries for Calais.

Watch:

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The British military is set to test the drivers for the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/who-to-meet-over-uk-virus-strain-eu-starts-to-ease-bans-351724">virus</a> as the drivers vented their frustration and questioned the decision of police officers present at the border as reports said scuffles broke out with some police officers.

Thousands of trucks were standed at the border as France announced it was closing its land border with the UK after a new virus strain was announced which PM Johnson said was "70 per cent" more transferable.

British officials scampered to speak to French officials as PM Johnson called President Macron in a bid to reopen the gates. The French blockade comes as Britain prepares to leave the EU on December 31 with UK and EU officials still negotiating a deal.

UK's exit from the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-travel-bans-should-be-discontinued-to-avoid-supply-chain-disruptions-eu-351653">EU</a> is expected to cause greater disruption as logistics groups have already warned that many <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/plenty-of-food-uk-trucks-stranded-along-french-border-as-new-coronavirus-strain-leads-to-border-closure-351629">European drivers </a>have refused to come to Britain from January 1 since they need to secure a COVID-19 test with anyone who records a positive result would have to take a comprehensive PCR test which takes longer.

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "Will see the French border reopen to those travelling for urgent reasons, provided they have a certified negative COVID test,"&nbsp;even as French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebarri added: "French nationals, people living in France and those with a legitimate reason will have to be carrying a negative test."

Any driver who tests positive will be given a hotel room to isolate by UK authorities. Several drivers have already complained that they wouldn't be able to meet their families over Christmas as Britain carries out COVID-19 tests.

Reports say despite the reopening of borders congestion around UK's Dover remains unlikely to recede as British transit hub said it would reopen from midnight local time (2300 GMT) for travellers with a negative coronavirus result.

As France decided to reopen its border with Britain after it was closed following the announcement of a new virus strain by PM Johnson, truck drivers scuffled with police as they were told only those carrying a negative COVID-19 test result could board ferries for Calais.

As France decided to reopen its border with Britain after it was closed following the announcement of a new virus strain by PM Johnson, truck drivers scuffled with police as they were told only those carrying a negative COVID-19 test result could board ferries for Calais. Watch: The British military is set to test the drivers for the virus as the drivers vented their frustration and questioned the decision of police officers present at the border as reports said scuffles broke out with some police officers. Thousands of trucks were standed at the border as France announced it was closing its land border with the UK after a new virus strain was announced which PM Johnson said was "70 per cent" more transferable. British officials scampered to speak to French officials as PM Johnson called President Macron in a bid to reopen the gates. The French blockade comes as Britain prepares to leave the EU on December 31 with UK and EU officials still negotiating a deal. UK's exit from the EU is expected to cause greater disruption as logistics groups have already warned that many European drivers have refused to come to Britain from January 1 since they need to secure a COVID-19 test with anyone who records a positive result would have to take a comprehensive PCR test which takes longer. UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "Will see the French border reopen to those travelling for urgent reasons, provided they have a certified negative COVID test," even as French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebarri added: "French nationals, people living in France and those with a legitimate reason will have to be carrying a negative test." Any driver who tests positive will be given a hotel room to isolate by UK authorities. Several drivers have already complained that they wouldn't be able to meet their families over Christmas as Britain carries out COVID-19 tests. Reports say despite the reopening of borders congestion around UK's Dover remains unlikely to recede as British transit hub said it would reopen from midnight local time (2300 GMT) for travellers with a negative coronavirus result.

After France reopens border, truckers scuffle with police in UK over COVID-19 test

Britain and France have been negotiating reopening of borders to allow trucks to carry goods into the UK after Europe shut down borders as PM Johnson announced the news strain of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/new-strain-of-coronavirus-not-seen-in-india-so-far-government-351602">coronavirus</a> raising fears of a renewed spread of the virus which is reportedly 70 per cent more transferable.

Watch:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/uk-scrambles-to-maintain-supply-chains-due-to-travel-ban-amid-virus-concerns-351592/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Britain's top supermarket Sainsbury had earlier warned that disruption could lead to shortage in the supply of lettuce, cauliflowers, broccoli and citrus fruit in the country.

However, British PM Johnson said supply chains remained "strong and robust" while asserting that delays would affect a "very small percentage" of food entering the UK.&nbsp;

The abrupt move by France to close its border after UK's announcement of the new strain forced Britain to bring forward "Operation Stack" which the British government has devised to deal with anticipated freight tailbacks on roads around Dover in case of no-deal Brexit.

The French border remained closed on Monday with several trunks stranded along Dover port.

British officials have been negotiating with the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-imposes-travel-ban-on-eu-representatives-over-navalny-controversy-351596">EU</a> for a last-minute deal over Brexit fine print, but the Saturday announcement of a lockdown due to the new strain has plunged the Boris Johnson government into a new crisis.

"I don't think anybody should be worried - there is plenty of food in our shops," Interior minister Priti Patel said.

Reports say French and British officials are locked in negotiations over fishing rights post-Brexit even as London mayor Sadiq Khan and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called for an extension to Brexit talks to avoid disruption over New Year.

UK chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said that new variant of<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/can-make-vaccine-to-beat-coronavirus-mutation-in-six-weeks-biontech-351585"> coronavirus </a>had "clearly substantially increased" while adding that it "looks the same as any other form of Covid infection".

The news strain is reportedly spreading fast across southeast England. Britain is one of the worst-hit countries in the worst-hit country in Europe with virus with over 67,000 deaths and 2 million infection cases. 
&nbsp;

Britain and France have been negotiating reopening of borders to allow trucks to carry goods into the UK after Europe shut down borders as PM Johnson announced the news strain of coronavirus raising fears of a renewed spread of the virus which is reportedly 70 per cent more transferable.

Britain and France have been negotiating reopening of borders to allow trucks to carry goods into the UK after Europe shut down borders as PM Johnson announced the news strain of coronavirus raising fears of a renewed spread of the virus which is reportedly 70 per cent more transferable. Watch: Britain's top supermarket Sainsbury had earlier warned that disruption could lead to shortage in the supply of lettuce, cauliflowers, broccoli and citrus fruit in the country. However, British PM Johnson said supply chains remained "strong and robust" while asserting that delays would affect a "very small percentage" of food entering the UK. The abrupt move by France to close its border after UK's announcement of the new strain forced Britain to bring forward "Operation Stack" which the British government has devised to deal with anticipated freight tailbacks on roads around Dover in case of no-deal Brexit. The French border remained closed on Monday with several trunks stranded along Dover port. British officials have been negotiating with the EU for a last-minute deal over Brexit fine print, but the Saturday announcement of a lockdown due to the new strain has plunged the Boris Johnson government into a new crisis. "I don't think anybody should be worried - there is plenty of food in our shops," Interior minister Priti Patel said. Reports say French and British officials are locked in negotiations over fishing rights post-Brexit even as London mayor Sadiq Khan and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called for an extension to Brexit talks to avoid disruption over New Year. UK chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said that new variant of coronavirus had "clearly substantially increased" while adding that it "looks the same as any other form of Covid infection". The news strain is reportedly spreading fast across southeast England. Britain is one of the worst-hit countries in the worst-hit country in Europe with virus with over 67,000 deaths and 2 million infection cases.

'Plenty of food': UK trucks stranded along French border as new coronavirus strain leads to border closure

The Port of Dover is the cross-channel port situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. WION's Exclusive report on Dover port. Watch video to know more.

WION's Exclusive report on Dover port

In this segment, watch WION's Exclusive report on Dover port.

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Chaos at UK’s Dover port as travellers wait in queue for over 6 hours

Travellers complain of hours-long wait at UK's Dover Port

UK deploys more troops at Dover port to ease channel logjam by truckers

Trucks remain stranded at UK-French border as 3 drivers test COVID-19 positive

After France reopens border, truckers scuffle with police in UK over COVID-19 test

'Plenty of food': UK trucks stranded along French border as new coronavirus strain leads to border closure

WION's Exclusive report on Dover port

WION's Exclusive report on Dover port