Channel Tunnel delays after Brexit will cost jobs nationwide, warn bosses

A queue of lorries waiting at Dover, as bosses warn of job losses if Brexit causes delays to getting to the continent
Twitter/Rachel Harper

Jobs could be lost around the country if there are delays crossing to the Continent after Brexit, Channel Tunnel chiefs warned today.

They also said that express delivery and logistics businesses could relocate out of the UK, and food and flowers might perish if held up in port for days.

The warning follows a report that civil servants are examining scenarios for a “Doomsday Brexit” which could see the Port of Dover paralysed on day one if Britain leaves the EU with no deal, and supplies of medicine, fuel and food running short within weeks.

Channel Tunnel operator Getlink and port bosses from Calais and Zeebrugge were today giving evidence to the Commons Treasury Committee, chaired by Conservative MP Nicky Morgan.

The tunnel chiefs raised concerns over the impact of border delays as Theresa May seeks to bridge Cabinet divides over the Government’s preferred option for a future trade partnership with the EU, ahead of a Commons showdown on whether the UK should remain in a customs union.

Getlink told the MPs: “Our view is that the introduction of Smart Border technology is essential to ensuring that frictionless trade can be maintained.

“Pre-declaration of goods to be imported or exported, a trigger on arrival at the border and inspections inland or at the point of delivery are the only way that this can be achieved.”

However, the company said that the Government would not be able to achieve this before Brexit.

“Delivering this level of sophistication will be a complex and lengthy process and it is already too late to envisage it being in place in March 2019,” it added. “Government needs to step up its delivery significantly in order to ensure that the economy can continue to grow.”

Getlink emphasised that 220,000 jobs were supported by UK producers transporting goods through the Channel Tunnel, including many in the East and West Midlands, as well as in other regions. The sectoral breakdown showed 45,000 of these posts were in the production of computers and electronics, 32,000 in steel, iron and other metal production, 21,000 in the production of motor vehicles, parts and other transport equipment, and 48,000 in manufacturing and service industries as a result of the export of postal and courier freight.

“A proportion of these jobs could be put at risk if delays at the border resulted in a reduction in demand for UK exports,” Getlink stated in written evidence.

The company urged ministers to ensure the UK Border Force has enough resources to speed up border processes including immigration controls, customs clearance and security.

Leading British businesses yesterday warned Mrs May that maintaining frictionless trade with the European Union after Brexit was probably more important than any tariff levels.

The Prime Minister and several Cabinet ministers met business chiefs including the bosses of pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline, supermarket Tesco, carmaker Aston Martin, telecoms firm BT and construction company Balfour Beatty to discuss Brexit.

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