Thousands queue at Dover for second day as Braverman accused of denial
Thousands of people have faced a second day stuck in queues at Dover, as Suella Braverman denied post-Brexit checks were to blame for the chaos.
Despite extra sailings put in place overnight on Saturday, P&O Ferries said on Sunday afternoon that coaches arriving at cruise terminal 1 would likely face a total wait of over 10 hours.
Angry customers and parents of schoolchildren caught up in the delays, some of whom had their school trips cancelled as a result, bombarded ferry companies and the port, which declared a critical incident on Friday, with messages on social media.
As the government came under pressure over the situation, Braverman rejected the idea that they were linked to Brexit, although political opponents suggested she was out of touch with reality.
Speaking on Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the home secretary said operations at the French border had been “very good” since Britain exited the EU.
“I don’t think that’s fair to say that this has been an adverse effect of Brexit,” said Braverman. “We’ve had many years now since leaving the European Union and there’s been, on the whole, very good operations and processes at the border.
“At acute times where there is a lot of pressure crossing the Channel, whether that’s on tunnel or ferries, then I think there’s always going to be a backup. I just urge everybody to be a bit patient while the ferry companies work their way through the backlog.”
Later, speaking on the Laura Kuenssberg programme on BBC One, Braverman denied the situation at Dover would repeat itself and blamed “bad weather”.
But her comments variously attracted ire and ridicule. The Liberal Democrats’ home affairs spokesperson, Alistair Carmichael, said: “These comments show Suella Braverman is in
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