to be concerned that there appears to be no relief effort for the lorry drivers around Dover?

[MyNameIsArthur]

just that really. I am worried that they are not being provided with hot food, drinks and toilet facilities while stuck on the motorway and parking areas near Dover. It must be awful for them

The Sikh community have been amazing, really rallied round.

Our Govt on the other hand appear to have left them to it. Disgraceful.

I think a lot more needs to be done, after all we are supposed to be a civilised country. I felt really sorry for the lorry drivers and most of them get paid peanuts. These lorry drivers have the lowest risk compared to any business person that is/was allowed to travel during the pandemic as they hardly come in to contact with anyone and even Macron said it earlier. I don't know what it is but the French gov are rather good at stirring shit up. Do you remember their farmers burning live animals in British lorries and also attacking British lorries so what sort of empathy and remorse would you expect from them. 🤷‍♀️

In situations like that, why don't the army get called out?

Setting up loos, showers... Food etc... The irony of keeping these poor lorry drivers held means of course they have been gathering, talking, shouting! If anyone did have the virus it's mixing now!

Telephone, French drivers stuck here are furious and I'm sure it was them that rioted in summer re diesel tax..

so what sort of empathy and remorse would you expect from them

Well that's not at all xenophobic

The entire outdoor event industry stock of toilets, marquees, catering trailers and everything that goes with them has been sitting in yards and warehouses since March. A temporary welfare centre could have been set up in hours if the right people had been asked. It’s staggering.

And Kent is going to have to clear up the excreta from the edge of the motorway afterwards, because where else can the poor drivers go if they have to stay near their lorries and there are no loos available for several days?

@NotMeNoNo

The entire outdoor event industry stock of toilets, marquees, catering trailers and everything that goes with them has been sitting in yards and warehouses since March. A temporary welfare centre could have been set up in hours if the right people had been asked. It’s staggering.

Yes, this.

And while nobody could have predicted this would happen at exactly this moment, or the cause, there are lots of things that could cause the port to close and it was well known that a lorry queue would be the result, so you would have thought somebody somewhere should have a contingency plan to organise sanitation for the drivers.

The Sikh community are amazingly in their charity efforts. It doesn't get enough publicity.

Great decision by the French government to make all these drivers herd together in the UK, making it much more likely that they contract and spread coronavirus, when in reality they normally spend hardly any time outside their cabs in the UK and there was hardly any increased risk of transmission from goods and freight. Certainly no more than March when no-one knew which end was up. Purely political. At least people across Europe momentarily hate the French more than the UK for five minutes. Well done.

It should have been part of the Brexit preparations - which were a joke if course - and part of the building plans for the ‘Farages Garages’. I don’t know what the lorry cabs are like, I hope they can keep warm. A lot of people don’t realise Britain is a killing country without shelter in winter.

I'm watching the BBC breakfast news. when interviewing the politicians, they haven't quizzed them about what they are doing to help the lorry drivers. Temperatures are going to drop below zero in the next couple of days. Is worrying.

They are opening the borders again for the lorry drivers who test negative for Covid. Before the announcement there were plans to add 70 additional toilets and have more food trucks. The local hotels and B&Bs were allowing groups to rent a room so they could use the bathrooms. It wasn't great, but the issues were picked up by some Ministers.

Look how many food banks there are and how many people are struggling and the reaction from the government. Did you really expect them to do anything for lorry drivers.
Its disgusting they have been left like this but well done to the communities that have stepped up.

There was a marvellous Sikh on the radio this morning explaining what they've been doing and how much food has been donated to their charity for the drivers.

The trucks are allowed to get going this morning as long as the drivers don't test positive. I saw this last night, this is one of the holding areas. What the charities have been doing for the drivers is amazing!

What Captain Sandy said.

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel

Kent council certainly shouldn’t have to pay.

so true. I feel so sorry for the drivers. but also for the residents of Kent. (france should pay as they shut the border imo)

The government really should have had adequate plans in place, not just ready for brexit but because problems do occur. It’s admirable that charities stepped up but it shouldn’t have been left to charity.

Presumably the government weren’t that bothered as nobody could make any money out of it.

This is appalling - having the ferry ports/tunnel closed is not a one off these things happen for all sorts of reasons - normally industrial action - people are paid huge sums of money to plan for all such eventualities - the response should all be in place and able to be activated at a moments notice.

We should not allow these well paid staff whose plans have failed to get away with these shambles.

i worked in emergency planning in 1998 - 2000 and we had complete comprehensive pandemic plans written then including plans to shut schools and businesses - the government has not made up the response to this on the hoof - plans have been made and should have been updated and tested regularly

We had mass vaccination plans, mass burial pits, temporary morgues - every thing needed for any emergency - already established and could be initiated within hours - what has happened to all this work?

Where did all the stockpiled PPE go - because it was there.

Maybe people do not realise how every single Local Authority have teams solely planning for emergencies such as this as do the Police, Fire, NHS etc. Central Government have whole departments.

Kent, Suffolk and Essex should have full comprehensive plans to deal with a total shut down of the country and the lorry drivers affected - if not what are these people being paid for. Stop excusing incompetence.

Yanbu OP
It's an absolute disgrace they way they are being treated. The government should have ordered the army in to set up sanitation facilities and hot food stations.
Every day this government gives me another reason to feel ashamed of my country.

I don't think this is the fault of the UK government - when they planned for possible problems due to Brexit, they could not have foreseen Brexit coinciding with a pandemic that would suddenly worsen 10 days before the final Brexit deadline

It's December, the pandemic has been affecting the UK since March with various countries opening and shutting borders throughout the year as cases rise and fall. Plus they knew the Winter would be more challenging (they even spoke about this in the earliest press conferences). I don't think our government can pretend this was totally unexpected.

I learned from one of my sons grittier storybooks that plumbers do both big and small 'business' in the back of their vans?

It's grim but I'm guessing long distance drivers have some experience of relieving themselves on the hop.

One lovely guy on the news last night was showing off his little camp stove that he keeps under his cab.

Covid makes it all so much harder. I remember when the M8 was standstill overnight due to snow (an unexpected condition in Scotland 🙄) and rural residents were tramping over fields with food and blankets.

I'm assuming they can charge their phones in their cabs? Poor sods.

Damn good question @Basecamp65. I remember the days when Britain had some capability to plan and organise too. Nowadays an interest in such things seems to make people think there’s something wrong with you!
Sky showing clashes between drivers and police. I don’t know how extensive it is but things are not looking good.

It might not be the fault of the government, the border closure, ( I would dispute that) but it's most certainly their responsibility.

BIL is a truck driver, on that route although off sick at the moment. The drivers are pretty resourceful and self sufficient but they do rely on sensible access to services, shops and facilities. There are lorry parks and truck stops but they are designed for a certain percentage of the fleet at any one time. We have seen what happens when a stop is put on the thousands of HGVs in circulation on the road. It's just a taste of things to come when Brexit starts interrupting the supply and distribution systems.