FRANCE has banned all travel to and from Britain including freight due to the mutant Covid strain — stoking fears of a breakdown in vaccine, food and goods supplies over Christmas.
Boris Johnson will meet his emergency Cobra team on Monday to address the 48-hour blockade ordered by President Emmanuel Macron.
Supermarkets face major shortages of food and Christmas goods after France closed its UK border.
Lorry queues were stretching seven miles to ports in both countries as the ban added to existing worries over Christmas stockpiling and Brexit uncertainty.
An industry source said: “Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse — disaster on top of disaster. I fear for supermarket supply chains.
“It’s the panic buying we are most worried about. The chains have held up all year but only if people are sensible.”
SUPPLY CHAIN FEARS
There were also rising fears the blockade could disrupt vital supplies of the Pfizer Biotech vaccine to the UK which is made in Belgium.
Military aircraft could airlift supplies of the vaccines from Belgium if the freight ban stays in place for longer than 48 hours, The Telegraph reports.
PM Boris Johnson has called an emergency Cobra meeting of ministers and the military.
Ministers have been preparing for months for border chaos from a possible No Deal Brexit and will bring forward contingency plans.
EU states will discuss their response to the new virus strain in a call this morning. It has now reportedly been found in Italy.
Germany, Holland, Belgium, Austria and Bulgaria were also halting flights. Trains to Belgium were suspended and Ireland introduced a 48-hour ban on travellers from midnight.
Ian Wright, of the Food and Drink Federation, said the suspension of freight traffic could cause “serious disruption”.
He added: “Continental truckers will not want to travel here if they fear getting marooned.
“The Government must very urgently persuade the French government to exempt accompanied freight from its ban.”
Rod McKenzie, of the Road Haulage Association, branded it a “hammer blow”.
France-based Brit Phil Williams tweeted: “Pity the poor sods stuck in trucks on the M20. What did they do wrong? And all that stuff stuck in Calais. A few empty shelves in Waitrose methinks.”
‘HAMMER BLOW’
One trucker wrote: “I’ve got two trucks in Dover, one was put on the boat to Calais, the other has been told to go home. Some excellent consistency there.”
The moves came as Brits raced into a Christmas exodus to try to save their festivities.
In London, St Pancras Station was rammed with people desperate to visit family.
Amid scenes later slammed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock, commuter Harriet Clugston, who filmed the crowds, compared the scenes to the fall of Saigon in the Vietnam War.
She tweeted: “Last train out of Saigon. Queue at St Pancras as we wait to board the Leeds-bound train. As expected, train is crammed.”
Eurostar rail tickets sell out in less than an hour amid rumours of the French ban.
A 21-year-old engineering student trying to travel home to Brussels said the British government had “just created chaos”.
The shock Tier 4 rules imposed on London and parts of the South East mean people are only supposed to leave their areas for limited reasons — such as for work, education or caring responsibilities.
International travel is similarly restricted.
Within an hour of Boris Johnson’s bombshell announcement on Saturday evening, Londoners jumped into cars, taxis and even rental vehicles to escape the city.
FREIGHT CHAOS
Roads such as the A40 clogged up and airports like Heathrow were packed.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council told Trending In The News “blatant” rule-breakers would receive fixed-penalty notices. Leader Martin Hewitt said: “These restrictions will be upsetting for many after a very challenging year.
“But most people will want to do what they can to protect public health and the health of their loved ones. We urge everyone to follow the rules in their area.
“We are confident that the majority of people will continue to do their best to adapt and do the right thing.
“Those who blatantly ignore the regulations should expect to receive a fixed penalty notice.
“Clear guidance will be developed for officers who are policing these regulations, and they will continue to play their part in helping the public navigate and understand changes in their area.”
British Transport Police revealed they were boosting officer numbers across the southern transport network to ensure people were making only essential journeys.
Assistant Chief Constable Sean O’Callaghan said his force’s policing method “remained the same” — with officers engaging with passengers and dishing out fines if “absolutely necessary”.
The Met Police warned the “most dangerous and flagrant breaches” of Tier 4 regulations would be hit with penalties, tweeting: “Don’t risk a fine in the lead up to Christmas.”
In Scotland, cops said they would double their presence along the border after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a clampdown.
Police Scotland Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said “highly visible patrols” on roads would be used to “deter anyone who might be considering breaching the coronavirus travel restrictions”.
Meanwhile Mr Hancock told Brits thinking up their own escaped plans to “unpack their bags” and “restrict social contact”.
Hinting that tough restrictions on movement would be in place for months to come, he warned that “of course” police would enforce the law and prevent people leaving Tier 4 areas.
Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sky, he said of reports of the exodus: “This was clearly totally irresponsible behaviour. The Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty was absolutely clear that people should unpack their bags if they have them packed.
“I think that it’s relatively small numbers and the vast majority of people in the pandemic have followed the rules and played their part.
“It is more important than ever that people are responsible — not only stick to the rules but within the rules restrict social contact as much as is possible because this is deadly serious.”
When he was later asked by the BBC’s Andrew Marr if police would prevent people from leaving Tier 4 regions, Mr Hancock insisted: “Of course.
“I’ve spoken to the Home Secretary [Priti Patel] and the British Transport Police’s responsibility is to police the transport system.”
An initial ban would last until Britain leaves the EU on January 1, but the source added Berlin is already “working on measures” to extend the flight ban beyond that date.
It comes after a German government official earlier told the DPA news agency restrictions on flights were a “serious option”.
Ireland has also announced similar measures banning flights from the UK for the first time in history.
