boris johnson's government is now under
intense pressure
on three fronts the new variant of
coronavirus is spreading rapidly
dozens of countries have banned travel
from the uk
and britain is still set to leave the eu
at the end of the transition period
without a deal
in 11 days time now during the day more
than 40 countries banned flights from
the uk
or they imposed greater restrictions and
a french ban
on some freight lorries due to last 48
hours leading to long queues on the
roads of kent
to the port of dover but the government
points out that most freight
is getting through although what's
called accompanied freight through dover
that's about a fifth of the total is
being interrupted
so far retailers say their stocks are
sufficient
and talks to find a solution are
continuing as our political editor
laura kinsburg reports now
you shall not pass travel is blocked
instead of trucks flowing stuffed with
christmas parcels and supplies
the motorway is a car park with truckers
stuck
this is my home my bed
gordon's cab will be his bedroom living
room and kitchen for the next couple of
days
what do we do just have to sit it out
hopefully
they get their act together and let us
go home
colin got stuck at dover but has now
made it back to the depot
so i'll be able to get home for
christmas but
a lot of these people that are sitting
on the m20 are not going to get home for
christmas
the french border closed late last night
dozens of other countries are telling
brits to stay at home
and ministers here are grappling with a
new variant of the coronavirus
that's hitting our health our businesses
and trade with the outside world
emergency meetings have been taking
place all day
i want to say we in the uk fully
understand
the anxieties of our friends about kobit
their anxieties about
the new variant but it's also true that
we believe the risks of transmission by
a solitary driver
sitting alone in the cap are
really very low how confident can you be
tonight that you can get the delays and
disruption under control
and you said you just spoke to emmanuel
macron did he give you any commitment on
when
he would open the border yes it was an
excellent conversation with
uh the french president he stressed he
was keen i would say just
to sort it out in the next few hours if
we can
and uh our teams will be uh working on
it
uh flat out but the high risk at home is
increasingly clear
i think it is likely that this will grow
in num
numbers of the variant across the
country and i think it's likely
therefore that measures that need to
need to be increased in some places in
due course not
not reduced france spain denmark the
czech republic and dozens of others have
banned uk
travelers but a decision from president
macron about opening the border for
freight may not come till lunch time
although late night conversations have
been taking place
from isolation macron told his cabinet
a problematic mutation of the virus in
the uk
meant exceptional measures were needed
to control the border
the longer the ban goes on the more
damage and disruption it does
the government spent months rehearsing
for this kind of emergency
but not because of the pandemic but
because of what might happen with brexit
the location of that a border control
center had already been set up to manage
the possible chaos
because in 10 days time how we trade
with the rest of the continent will
change dramatically anyway
but just because officials have
practiced in theory doesn't make the
practice any less painful
this is now a real emergency we can have
no more over-promising and false hope no
more confused messages
and slow decision-making we need
strong clear and decisive leadership
the disease is accelerating aggressively
and even though it only affects a small
proportion of freight
other countries reaction to that is
creating disruption
and before too long more of the country
could be under even
tighter restrictions even despite the
turbulent times we've all become
accustomed to
tonight the government is grappling with
a crisis on many fronts
finding a way around is not
straightforward as the disease tightens
its grip
and the very end of the year approaches
political
and practical problems now collide laura
ginsberg bbc
news well highways england has confirmed
tonight that more than 900 lorries
are currently parked up on the m20
waiting to get into the port of dover
there have been talks between the uk and
france today and they discussed the
possibility
of testing lorry drivers and travelers
crossing the channel from britain
but no decisions are expected until
around tomorrow lunch time
currently no lorries vans or passengers
are being allowed to sail from dover
eurostar rail services have also been
suspended
and flights have been stopped from dover
our transport correspondent caroline
davis sent this report
frustration confusion anger not everyone
at dover this morning
had heard that lorries from the uk were
not allowed to cross into france
he wasn't the only angry driver arrest
arrived in his van last night
i have a ticket i 11 o'clock at 7
o'clock
french say close there's nothing
one day two days ago say close tomorrow
11 o'clock say i coming quickly now
it's not not make very good for days now
we've seen
cues of lorries stretching back from
dover as businesses prepare both for
christmas
but also for the end of the transition
period but just take a look at dover
this morning
completely empty the port of dover
usually handles nine
thousand glories a day while goods are
allowed in from france
that number has been substantially
reduced today it's a pretty significant
event
yes so we would certainly be encouraging
governments on both sides of the channel
to do what it takes to allow these guys
to get moving again if this goes on for
a period of time this will have an
economic
impact on both sides of the channel
while the port stayed closed many waited
divine was heading home to france with
his sister
i'm coming here two o'clock in the night
two o'clock i'm here 40 hours here
where did you where did you flee in
divine up
one car park in dover began to fill up
well dover's just a two minute drive
over that way but here
is where many people have parked up now
i've spoken to people who had to spend
the night here in their cars and their
vans
and you can see there are registration
plates from across the eu
ignace isn't a commercial driver he's
just trying to get home to his family in
lithuania for christmas
is waiting for the christmas presents
you know and i'm stuck
here in the uk but for now ignis is
stranded in a car park
hopefully the government will fix fix
that situation
hopefully we will wait we can we can
wait
a little bit but not too much you know
christmas is coming
overnight part of the motorway down to
the coast will be closed
as operation brock a new road layout is
deployed to keep
traffic flowing in drizzly and missed
covered dover
many would like to know when the way
ahead will be clear
caroline davis bbc news now british
supermarkets have been quick to try to
assure customers that they have enough
food in stock for christmas
although sainsbury's has warned that
there could be shortages of some fresh
produce afterwards
if freight routes between france and the
uk are not quickly reopened
the british retail consortium says any
prolonged border closure
will be a problem in the 10 days before
the uk ends its transition period with
the eu
our business editor simon jack has more
details
scottish seafood one of the crown jewels
of uk exports
highly prized highly perishable which
makes any delays at the ports very bad
for businesses
like this aberdeen based exporter today
i had to phone the customer early this
morning to say
he wasn't going to get the product
therefore he didn't place
another order for goods today so i was
unable to buy on the market today to
supply my customer
tomorrow so it has a rolling effect the
uk exports
15 billion pounds worth of food and
drink to the eu annually a third of
which is perishable
meat fish and fresh produce we import
35 billion pounds worth again the
majority of which has a short shelf life
so is vulnerable to delay so does this
mean we are facing food shortages
today sainsbury said that while we have
all the food we need
for christmas if nothing changes we will
start to see gaps over the coming days
on lettuce
some salad leaves cauliflowers broccoli
and citrus fruit all of which
are imported from the continent at this
time of year however retail groups
reassured shoppers that the uk ladder is
full
well we shouldn't be worried because at
this time of year
supermarkets are as well stocked as they
are at any other point in the year
so if there is ongoing disruption that
will have an impact on
limited availability and shelf life but
focus very specifically on fresh food
everything that we need for our
christmas dinner
um is sourced from this country and
retailers have got plenty of stock in
their warehouses
however this wholesaler supplies eighty
thousand food businesses
thirty percent of their products are for
the eu mushtaq ahmed
said the timing was terrible timing
could not be any worse than this
while we were just about getting ready
for the 31st of december brexit um
preparation and also with the recent
tier 4 lockdown situation within london
area
suddenly a port closure for 48 hours
didn't help the situation
at all it takes everything out of
proportion all the preparation all the
measures we put in place
has been seriously shaken and this is an
extra headache to deal with
there are long long delays while some
may find this has disrupted their brexit
preparations
sources close to the government tonight
tell the bbc it could be seen in some
ways
as a dress rehearsal for potential
disruption in 10 days time
simon jack bbc news