Photo: Twitter
‘Project Fear’ warnings that Britain’s split with the European Union could sound the death knell for frictionless trade appeared to be bang on the money after one Italian lorry driver was stuck at the border for more than two days.
New Brexit rules introduced on 30th April require some lorries transporting plant and animal goods from the continent to be checked at designated border control posts along the British coast.
There are also charges on consignments which industry experts have warned could be inflationary.
Speaking to the Guardian, Antonio Soprano, 62, who was stopped while bringing plants into the country from central Italy, described his ordeal of getting goods into the country, saying he was forced to wait for 55 hours at a border control post and was offered nothing to eat during the stay.
After eventually being released from the Sevington facility in Ashford, Kent, in the early hours of the morning, he was then clamped and had to pay a £185 fine after difficulties finding a place to park in the middle of the night.
Soprano, who speaks no English, said no efforts were made to explain to him what was happening, claiming he was just repeatedly told by officials to wait.
The waiting facilities for drivers consist of a small room with a few tables, with only water provided and no food.
He said: “They told me to go and eat at a McDonald’s, which was 2km away, so by foot. In the end I found a supermarket but we had no services apart from a toilet.”
The lorry was held because of concerns about 10 Prunus lusitanica plants in the load, which border officials thought could be carrying harmful pests.
The concerns were raised hours after the lorry arrived at 6.30pm on 26 May, and officials said the delays occurred because the plants could not be unloaded because of health and safety concerns.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the initial inspection of the lorry was delayed due to the driver having to take an 11-hour rest break, known as a tacho break, while at Sevington. It said the absence of a load plan, and problems with the way the lorry was loaded, meant extra measures were needed to safely check the plants.
Officials eventually signed off the plants and allowed the vehicle to be released just after 1am on 29 May, about 55 hours after it arrived.
Related: Nick Robinson floors Sunak with question on Conservative’s record in government
