Matt Hancock warns public must take personal responsibility to get new strain of coronavirus under control
Boris Johnson will hold an emergency Cobra meeting on Monday after France banned lorries carrying freight from the UK and many countries prohibited UK flights amid fears over the new mutant coronavirus strain.
It has caused chaos in Folkestone, Kent, where queues of lorries began backing up on Sunday to gain access to the Eurotunnel. Hauliers were urged to stay away from the area while businesses feared drivers would be stranded in Britain, and that goods would be blocked from either leaving or entering causing food shortages and potentially forcing them to close.
The Food and Drink Federations chief executive, Ian Wright, warned of possible food shortages as a result of the border closure, saying the move has the potential to cause serious disruption to UK Christmas fresh food supplies.
As a result, the FTSE 100 fell 2 per cent in minutes after opening on Monday morning with £33bn being wiped off the index of 100 leading companies shares in London. British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group was the biggest faller, down 16 per cent while Lloyds Banking Group dropped 6 per cent.
Show latest update
1608539924
UK shares plummet amid Covid and no-deal Brexit fears
The FTSE 100 fell 2 per cent in minutes after opening on Monday morning as the UK awoke to news of a deepening crisis at key ports supplying fresh food and other vital imports.
In London, £33bn was wiped off the index of 100 leading companies shares after France closed the border to all incoming traffic from the UK, causing the Eurotunnel and Dover Ferry port to close for 48 hours from Sunday night.
My colleague Ben Chapman has more:
The FTSE 100 fell 2 per cent in minutes after opening on Monday morning as the UK awoke to news of a deepening crisis at key ports supplying fresh food and other vital imports.
Sam Hancock21 December 2020 08:38
1608539774
Facts about new strain more important than terminology, Kent council says
Kent County Council leader Roger Gough said it was very hard to know whether the language used by the government on the new fast-spreading virus has spooked other countries to bring in draconian restrictions.
Speaking to Times Radio, he said: I think government was clearly emphasising the role of the new variant of the virus.
Weve had very high levels of infections reported, which continue to grow mysteriously during the time when we were first in the national lockdown and then in Tier 3, and to some extent the new variant of the virus seems a plausible explanation as to why thats happened.
One would hope people would look beyond any particular terminology to what are the facts, what do we know, but I don’t think I can answer really for what the reaction of the French and other continental European authorities is.
Sam Hancock21 December 2020 08:36
1608537957
France freight ban slightly surprising, Shapps admits
Transport secretary Grant Shapps has said Frances ban on freight hauliers from the UK was slightly surprising.
He told Sky News on Monday that while the disruption was not a “specific problem” in the short term, the key was to “get it resolved”.
He said: Immediately as soon as the French said, perhaps slightly surprisingly that they would stop hauliers, rather than just passengers, we were in touch with a group known as the Kent Resilience Forum. They are well used to planning for exactly these kind of circumstances.
We will be opening up Manston as a lorry park today and providing welfare for some of those drivers as well, while also being in very close contact with the French over what will happen next.
The Kent Dover-to-Calais Eurotunnel, what we call the short straits, is probably about 20 per cent of goods going to and from, in and out of the country. But it’s not the mainstay. Most goods actually come in and out by unaccompanied containers and those will continue to flow.
Asked about what the shortages could be, Mr Shapps said: Obviously we don’t want these links to be closed for too long, but it’s not unusual for them to be closed and disrupted. In the short term it’s not a specific problem. But of course the key is to get it resolved.
Sam Hancock21 December 2020 08:05
1608537313
Johnson to hold Cobra meeting over travel and freight bans
Boris Johnson will hold crisis talks with ministers after France banned lorries carrying freight from the UK and countries around the world ended flights amid fears over the new mutant coronavirus strain.
The PM will chair a meeting of the governments Cobra civil contingencies committee on Monday amid warnings of “significant disruption” around the Channel ports in Kent. Hauliers were urged to stay away from the area amid warnings of potential problems as the end of the Brexit transition period looms on 31 December.
Kent Police said they were implementing Operation Stack in a bid to ease potential congestion, while the Department for Transport said Manston Airport was also being prepared as another contingency measure against the anticipated level of disruption.
Countries including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and Bulgaria announced restrictions on UK travel following the disclosure that the highly infectious new strain is widespread across south-east England.
Italian authorities also announced the mutant strain had been detected in a traveller who recently returned to the country from the UK.
With France suspending all traffic from the UK for 48 hours, it raised fears that trade flows could be severely disrupted while passengers across Europe could be left stranded in the final run-up to Christmas.
A No 10 spokesman said: “The PM will chair a Cobra meeting tomorrow to discuss the situation regarding international travel, in particular the steady flow of freight into and out of the UK.
Further meetings are happening this evening and tomorrow morning to ensure robust plans are in place.
Sam Hancock21 December 2020 07:55
1608537029
Food and drinks chief warns of Christmas fresh food shortages
The Food and Drink Federations chief executive, Ian Wright, has warned of possible food shortages as a result of the border closure.
He said on Sunday: Tonights suspension of accompanied freight traffic from the UK to France has the potential to cause serious disruption to UK Christmas fresh food supplies and exports of UK food and drink.
Continental truckers will not want to travel here if they have a real fear of getting marooned. The government must very urgently persuade the French government to exempt accompanied freight from its ban.
Sam Hancock21 December 2020 07:50
1608536898
Freight crisis as new strain leads EU to ban travel from UK
The UK faced a freight crisis as Christmas week dawned, after France and other European countries locked down their borders in a bid to prevent the spread of a new, virulent strain of Covid-19.
Businesses feared drivers would be stranded in Britain, and that goods would be blocked from either leaving or entering causing food shortages and potentially forcing them to close. While the disruption caused to businesses has led the SNP and the Liberal Democrats to urge Boris Johnson to extend the post-Brexit trade negotiations.
My colleagues Jon Sharman, Rory Sullivan and Ben Chapman report:
Calls for Boris Johnson to extend Brexit transition period amid border chaos
Sam Hancock21 December 2020 07:48
1608536424
Hello, and welcome to The Independents rolling coverage of the coronavirus.
Sam Hancock21 December 2020 07:40
Follow for the latest updates about the pandemic
