Brexit No-Deal Test in Dover

UK Ministers plan for a ‘practice traffic jam’ to prepare for no deal Brexit: Up to 150 lorries will be sent from Manston Airport to Dover during Monday’s rush hour in last minute test.

• The test will see up to 150 lorries sent down the A256 at 8am and 11am 

• The exercise is designed to check plans for using Manston as a huge lorry park

• Officials need to work out how fast to release lorries using ‘Operation Brock’  

• Contingency plan is intended to be used if Dover-Calais route seizes up in March

• A no deal Brexit could cause miles of tailbacks on both sides of the Channel port  

Up to 150 lorries will be sent from Manston Airport to Dover during rush hour on Monday in a test to see if Britain is ready for a no deal Brexit.

The exercise will test the idea of using Manston as a huge lorry park if a no deal causes congestion at Dover because of delays sending goods to Calais. 

Congestion at the Channel ports caused by the reintroduction of customs checks on goods has been one of the most commonly cited negative impacts of a no-deal withdrawal from the EU at the end of March.

In the event of congestion, lorries will first be parked on the M20 under Operation Stack in a similar way to when bad weather or strikes close the Dover-Calais route. Once that is full as far as Ashford, trucks would be sent to Manston.  

The news came after it was reported that Theresa May was due to speak with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday as she seeks added flexibility in the Withdrawal Agreement.

MPs are due to debate the PM’s Brexit deal on Wednesday ahead of a meaningful vote the following week but the EU has yet to offer any changes.

Source: Daily Mail