UK Transport Secretary on travel ban and Brexit

British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on Monday called France’s ban on freight hauliers “slightly surprising” while reassuring contingency plans for Kent were in place, including opening up of a lorry park and providing “welfare” to drivers stuck at border.

“ Kent Dover-to-Calais Eurotunnel, what we call short straits, is probably about 20% of goods going to and from, in and out of country," he told British brocaster Sky News.

But it’s t mainstay. Most goods actually come in and out by unaccompanied containers and those will continue to flow,he ded.Shapps insisted that public won't tice any shorts “for most part” as a result of ban on lorries and that supply of coronavirus vaccines will continue as y come via containers that are unaffected.

France anunced Sunday that it was closing its borders for 48 hours in response new strain of coronavirus sweeping across sourn England. government has urged everyone to avoid travelling to Kent, which hosts many of cross-Channel ports.

Dover tably sees around 10,000 lorries pass through every day.Eurotunnel, rail service that links Britain with mainland Europe, has also suspended services.

chaos at border comes at a time of huge uncertainty for UK, less than two weeks before final st of Britain's exit from EU.Though UK left bloc on January 31, it is in a transition period that effectively sees it abide by EU rules until end of this year.

Talks on a post-Brexit tre relationship are still delocked and were set to resume on Monday.

(IM CREDITS:AP)