Dover: Lorries fill roads as France travel ban continues

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The Government has committed the cash to post-Brexit port infrastructure as part of an overall strategy aimed at increasing their attractiveness as hubs for the transportation of goods. However, Charles Hammond, chairman of the UK Major Ports Group, which represents 40 large ports, said those serving the Channel currently have an unfair advantage.

Mr Hammond explained ports such as Dover and Folkestone had not been required to build border infrastructure because they did not have the necessary space.

Urging Mr Johnson to devise a way of passing the costs back to Channel ports, he told the Financial Times: “The Government must come up with a pricing model that creates a level playing field because we know that we’ll have to be recovering our operating costs.

“To be fair, in the market place, the costs of these [ports] should be passed to the parties who are benefiting to decide whether they recover those costs from customers, freight forwarders or whoever it might be.”

Tim Reardon, head of EU exit for the Port of Dover, dismissed his criticisms, saying: “How the Government chooses to recover costs of the Sevington operation is its choice.

“User charges can be levied against importers whose goods are pulled into Sevington but I don’t see them charging the ferry company or Port of Dover, because neither is in any sense a ‘user’ of the site.”

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Brexit Britain breaks free: New rules come in to protect UK firms from foreign takeovers

British businesses crucial to national security are now protected by new rules making it harder for foreign firms to take them over, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has announced.

The move has been warmly welcomed by David Jones, deputy chairman of the European Research Group (ERG), who said the “sensible” regulations were definitely needed in the current climate, with UK companies vulnerable to “predatory foreign entities”.

The National Security and Investment Act is widely regarded as the biggest shake-up of the UK’s national security regime for 20 years and will permit ministers to scrutinise approaches by overseas interests much more closely.

The Government will also be able to impose certain conditions on a takeover or block it – although ministers were keen to stress this will happen rarely.

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Boris told to ‘level playing field’ as new £470m rules take effect

Boris Johnson’s £470million plan for Britain’s ports risks distorting the market in favour of those serving the English Channel, an industry boss has warned.

The Government has committed the cash to post-Brexit port infrastructure as part of an overall strategy aimed at increasing their attractiveness as hubs for the transportation of goods.

However, Charles Hammond, chairman of the UK Major Ports Group, which represents 40 large ports, said those serving the Channel currently have an unfair advantage.

Mr Hammond explained ports such as Dover and Folkestone had not been required to build border infrastructure because they did not have the necessary space.

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