An arch Brexiteer admitted on Monday that quitting the EU was leading to some delays at Dover - even as Government ministers refused to acknowledge this fact.
Lord Frost, who was Boris Johnson’s chief Brexit negotiator, stressed the need to be “honest” about what was happening at Britain’s borders.
After thousands of people suffered delays over the weekend, he tweeted: “If we want to control movement into the UK - which we do, as a key element in the Brexit vote - then we must expect the EU to control movement into the EU. We can’t have it both ways & we should be honest about that.”
He added that UK passports have for many years been checked at Dover by French officials.
“Since Brexit the processes have got a bit more laborious because the EU treats us as a third country. This will sometimes cause delays. It’s true the EU doesn’t *have* to do this, and we don’t treat EU citizens like that, but it’s their right to,” he explained.
He added that this could only be changed by providing more border posts for more checks, and staffing them more often (and if necessary paying the French to do this work), “diversifying travel away from the dominance” of Dover, or negotiating reduced checks.
Earlier, senior Tory MPs said Brexit is to blame for the Dover travel misery blighting Britons’ Easter holiday trips to the Continent.
Ministers are refusing to acknowledge the economic and travel harm caused by quitting the European Union.
But Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, is clear about the impact of Brexit.
After the Dover port chaos of recent days, Mr Ellwood, MP for Bournemouth East, tweeted: “ Of course it’s connected to BREXIT.
“Our current BREXIT model resulted in an end to travel freedoms
.
“But as they weren’t replaced with new ones - processing takes longer - hence the delays.
“Hence we need a BREXIT upgrade!”
Former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland, also believes that Brexit is at least partly to blame for the Dover gridlock, with a high number of coach trips also said to be another reason.
“It does seem that there is a confluence of issues,” the South Swindon MP told Sky News.
Of course it’s connected to BREXIT👇
— Tobias Ellwood MP (@Tobias_Ellwood) April 2, 2023
Our current BREXIT model resulted in an end to travel freedoms.
But as they weren’t replaced with new ones - processing takes longer - hence the delays.
To compound matters -in Nov finger print scans begin.
Hence we need a BREXIT upgrade! pic.twitter.com/22buTMRAcX
“There is no doubt that some of the increased checks that now are necessary, since we left the EU, will be a part of that.”
He urged the British and French authorities to “work even harder” to make sure the Channel crossings operate properly at peak times.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman rejected suggestions that Brexit could be the cause of delays at the port as passengers endured long queues and cancelled trips.
Ms Braverman said it would not be fair to view the delays as “an adverse effect of Brexit”.
But she was looking increasingly at odds with the reality on the ground as the delays for Britons travelling to the EU are becoming increasingly obvious.
Downing Street acknowledged that “new processes” introduced following Brexit had contributed to the problems on cross-channel ferries in recent days.
Traffic delays began on Friday and passengers hoping to get away for their Easter break on Sunday night were still facing a few more hours waiting to be processed at border controls and then get on a ferry.
P&O Ferries told coach drivers to head straight to the port to join the buffer zone queues, where advance passenger information (API) will be taken, but said “currently there is a 6+ hour wait to reach the border check points”.
In a statement issued on Sunday evening, the Port of Dover said: “All of this weekend’s coach traffic is now contained in the port ready for processing through immigration controls. Coaches have been processed throughout the day along with tourist cars and freight vehicles.
“The Port of Dover continues to work with the ferry operators and border agencies to get the remaining coach passengers on their way as quickly as possible.
“We continue to offer our sincere apologies for the prolonged delays.”
Separately, ministers have in recent days also been trumpeting a new trade deal with 11 Asia and Pacific nations.
International Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch rejected the Government’s own analysis that it will boost the size of Britain’s economy by just 0.08 per cent, a fraction of the economic harm caused by quitting the European bloc.
But she did not come forward with any new figures of the benefits of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership which includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexicoa, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
The Government’s spending watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, says Brexit will hit the UK’s potential GDP by about four per cent in the long term.
The Treasury has refused to make public its own analysis of the impact of Brexit, though, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had admitted there are some downsides.
