Calais Port Chief ‘Ashamed’ of UK Border Gridlock Due to Security Measures

The UK government announced that UK Border Force staff would assist French border police with checks at Dover in a bid to clear the backlog.

Jean-Marc Puissesseau, president of the Cote d’Opale Chamber of Commerce, which runs the port of Calais, insisted he would complain to the French authorities about the failure to prepare for increased border checks.

Kent Police warned that some motorists face delays of eight hours before arriving at the port. At one stage there were 12-mile tailbacks and people endured 14-hour waits.

Shadow home secretary Andy Burnham said: “The government needs to get on the phone to the French authorities and get a grip on this outrageous situation”.

A huge volume of traffic headed for the short Channel crossing from Friday but tightened security checks on travellers saw passengers passports being checked and – with the Port of Dover saying the French Police aux Frontières were “seriously under-staffed” – coaches taking more than half an hour to proceed.

Holidaymakers are facing days of misery after police warned disruption on the roads to Dover could last until Monday.

Thousands of holidaymakers attempting to travel to France by ferry from Dover yesterday faced “horrendous” delays of up to 15 hours.

Port of Dover said that the “exceptional security situation” had been made worse on Saturday morning by French border control booths being “seriously understaffed overnight with only three booths available for tourists out of a potential seven”.

Charlie Elphickle Conservative MP for Dover and Deal called on the Home Office to apologise.

Kent county council and the Highways Agency organised the partial closure of one carriageway northbound on the A20 to create an emergency corridor to hand out water and check on people stuck in cars and lorries.

Kent Police said on Twitter that parts of the northbound A20 would be closed to allow water to be distributed.

The Home Office said UK Border Force officials are in place to help but added they can not say how many as they do not go into “operational details”.

Dover is not the only port experiencing delays.

Among those affected by the disruption was multiple sclerosis sufferer Tanya Cudworth whose journey to Dover from Tunbridge Wells took 20 hours.

“Increased security checks at the border are completely understandable but the French authorities must provide adequate numbers of staff to ensure that these checks can be processed quickly and efficiently”.