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Thousands of truck drivers are likely to spend Christmas stranded in Kent, as the UK government has indicated that queues will not start moving for at least another 24 hours.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the 6,000 trucks, some of which have been parked on the A2 since Sunday, will start moving on Christmas Day as French firefighters and the British military work with NHS Test and Trace to continue testing drivers.
Carriers must return a negative coronavirus result made in the last 72 hours before crossing the Canal.
The head of Britain’s Road Transport Association has accused France of treating drivers as “pawns in a bigger game” as the UK is about to negotiate a deal with the EU, an accusation. which the French have repeatedly denied.
Richard Burnett was sympathetic to the carriers, a small number of whom clashed with police this week after they were prevented from heading to the mainland, adding: “It feels like a lever that the French have used specifically around negotiations. of Brexit “.
He told the BBC: “We understand that we don’t want the virus to spread, but I think we have to pretty much think about some of the reasons why this has happened.”
Burnett added that he was “relieved” that carriers could move after French authorities demanded a negative test following the emergence of a new, more transmissible strain of coronavirus in the UK, but added that it would “take some time” to remove The delay.
In addition to ensuring that the ferries will now set sail on Christmas and St. Stephen, we also have great cooperation from French firefighters working with NHS Test & Trace and our brilliant army in a great effort to eliminate the delay created by the closure of the French border: https: //t.co/5Q22QyI58k
– Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) Dec 24, 2020
He added that the coronavirus infection rates of truckers are much lower than those of workers in other sectors, between 3% and 6%.
Shapps said France and the UK agreed to keep the border at Dover, the Eurotunnel and Calais open “over Christmas” for citizens and carriers to clear “as soon as possible.”
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He promised that the ferries will set sail on Christmas Day and December 26, as 26 French firefighters brought 10,000 additional tests to the port to help speed up the process.
He said on Twitter: “In addition to ensuring that ferries now sail on Christmas and Boxing Day, we also have great cooperation from French firefighters working with NHS Test and Trace and our brilliant army in a great effort to eliminate the delay created by the closure of the French border “.
France’s ambassador to the UK Catherine Colonna added that the two countries were “neighbors, partners, allies and (yes) friends.”
A disused airfield in Manston has become the main testing center for carriers, and drivers must self-administer swabs in their cabs under supervision.
Trucks began entering the Eurotunnel again yesterday after drivers began producing negative Covid-19 results, but it is feared that it could take days to run all the tests.
Around 170 British servicemen are helping with the tests.
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