THE port of Dover yesterday declared it was ready to keep on truckin’ during a No Deal Brexit. Bosses hit back at “Project Fear” doom-mongers by insisting Britain’s biggest port had coped with crisis before and was ready for the future.
Doug Bannister, the new chief executive at the port which handles 10,000 lorries a day, said: “Throughout the Brexit debate what people have been desiring is certainty. Uncertainty is continuing — but we are prepared.”
Meanwhile Irish premier Leo Varadkar said he would rather see a No Deal than accept a time limit on the backstop designed to avoid a hard border in Ireland.
Just hours earlier Eurotunnel announced it was taking steps to ensure a No Deal would have “minimal” effect. It said: “We have adapted our infrastructure so that, with or without a deal, traffic flow through will be maintained.”
And last week the chief of Calais insisted a No Deal would not mean extra checks for hauliers.
Jean Marc Puissesseau said: “We have heard so many things about a hard Brexit. We have been preparing for a No Deal for a year. Brexiteers immediately leapt on the statements.
Charlie Elphicke, Tory MP for Dover, said: “The merchants of Project Fear tell us there will be chaos at Dover and lorries backing up all through Kent. Yet the port of Calais have said there won’t be any holds up on their side, now the Port of Dover says they too are ready to leave the EU.”
Colleague Marie Trevelyan told The Sun: “It’s fantastic to hear the confident voices of our critical businesses — Dover, Calais, Eurotunnel — confirming they are ready for Brexit.
“We don’t need to be afraid, we need to be prepared.”
Arch Eurosceptic Jacob Rees Mogg added: “Project Fear is disappearing into the mists of time.”
Researchers at Imperial College last year warned they believed extra checks at Dover could lead to a dramatic increase in congestion on motorways, with tailbacks of up to 29 miles as well as local congestion.
Brexit solution has been rejected by Westminster, the problem lies there
Leo Vardkar
Dover yesterday admitted “external factors such as border controls could slow things down”. But Mr Bannister said such delays would happen at “every EU-facing gateway” across the UK.
He stepped up demands for Theresa May’s Government to do all it could to help industries that rely on the port moving goods worth billions each year between the UK and Europe. But he insisted no other port had such experience of dealing with disruption.
He said: “Within a few days of the last significant incident of Operation Stack in the infamous summer of 2015, Dover was once again handling record volumes.”
Meanwhile Brexiteers said they wanted the Government to increase pressure on Ireland to admit there would not be any threat to the soft border separating the North from the Republic in a No Deal.
Mr Varadkar made it clear in talks with Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Emmanuel Macron that he preferred No Deal to limiting the backstop as he would prefer to blame the UK for any chaos than suffer domestic humiliation.
But his stance was undermined as his deputy Simon Coveney was caught conceding No Deal would still require border checks too. In a taped conversation with transport minister Shane Ross, he said Dublin must not publicly admit that will be the case for fear of a public backlash.
The EU Commission yesterday conceded that it is relying on getting a deal past British MPs to avoid such a scenario. The recording, published by the Irish Independent, will embarrass Mr Coveney and heap further pressure on his government to compromise.
He had been speaking at the end of a press briefing, at which he had just minutes earlier insisted: “We are not planning to put checks on the border.” But when asked about the possibility of controls on goods he replied: “Yes, but we can’t get into where they’ll be at this stage”.
He added: “Once you start talking about checks anywhere near the border, people will start delving into that and all of a sudden we’ll be the government that reintroduced a physical border on the island of Ireland.”
Mr Coveney suggested new checks between the UK and Ireland could largely take place at sea to reduce the need for border infrastructure. His remarks came after No 10 sources said Mr Varadkar fears being toppled if he gives ground on the border.
Speaking in Dublin later, Mr Varadkar insisted the ball was firmly in Britain’s court. Referring to the Commons defeat of Mrs May’s EU deal, he said: “That solution has now been rejected by Westminster — the problem now lies there.
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“The onus is on Westminster to come up with solutions that they can support, but they must be solutions that the EU and Ireland can accept. We have always said that if the UK were to evolve from its red lines on the Customs Union and the Single Market, that the European position would evolve also.”
Asked what plans it has in place to avoid a hard border, a Commission spokesman said: “We have a deal on the table and if this deal is ratified nothing of this sort will happen.
“What you are describing is a situation that would result from a No Deal exit, which we may be closer to but it’s not yet certain. We’ll try to make it not happen provided that we know what’s next as we’re expecting the next move from the UK.”
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News Pictures Bosses at the port of Dover declare they’re ‘prepared’ to keep wheels rolling after a No Deal Brexit
You don’t have to pack away your bikini just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!
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Hayden Panettiere
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SATC star Kim swears by gym sessions with Russian kettle bells (traditional cast-iron weights) and the South Beach Diet to give her the body she wants. To avoid overeating, Kim has a radical diet trick – squirting lemon juice on her leftovers – so she won’t carry on picking.
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https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/NINTCHDBPICT000460287938.jpg?strip=all&w=960
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