France threatens to block Calais port to the UK if we refuse to pay £39bn divorce bill in a No Deal Brexit scenario
The move would hugely damage our economy by squeezing the crucial Dover-Calais trade route
FRANCE could wreak massive damage on Britain’s economy by closing down Calais under a no deal Brexit, the Cabinet was warned.
If negotiations fail and Theresa May refuses to pay the UK’s £39bn divorce bill, it is feared Paris could immediately retaliate by creating chaos with cross-channel trade.
As the nation’s only major roll-on roll-off ferry hub, the Dover-Calais crossing has been identified by DexEU officials as Britain major strategic weak point.
France has the power to spark huge delays for UK-bound lorries importing factory parts for ‘just in time’ supply chains such as car factories.
And French customs officials would draw a halt to a large chunk of Britain’s food exports from entering France.
Brussels has the power to refuse to grant the UK approval to export animal products such as meat, poultry and dairy to the EU - trade worth £3.5bn a year - as well as organic food for as long as SIX months.
Theresa May’s top table was told that the drastic moves would see British factories forced to be mothballed, and leave food produce rotting – driving smaller firms and some farmers out of business within a few weeks.
Despite urgent no deal preparations that have been sped up by Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, The Sun has been told that several senior Cabinet ministers now believe the Government would fail to control the ensuing chaos caused by a Calais shutdown.
They include Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Business Secretary Greg Clark and Environment Secretary Michael Gove.
In his own presentation to an earlier Cabinet meeting, Mr Javid also revealed that French border guards could cause hours of tailbacks by simply insisting on asking drivers for their reason for travel.
The Sun Says
CLOWNS to the left of us, jokers to the right.
On one side, Irish PM Leo Varadkar is more a comedian than he is a statesman, though it’s not a high bar to clear.
On the other, Emmanuel Macron, a Napoleon tribute act whose stature is matched only by his collapsing poll ratings — and who is using tough talk on Brexit to distract from trouble at home.
But Mini Manu’s threats ring hollow.
Does he honestly think French businesses will thank him if he brings a huge chunk of the £70billion-plus trade between our two countries to a halt?
Does he honestly think French consumers are so annoyed about our decision to leave that they’ll want lorries blocking their motorways and supermarket shelves empty?
We have no desire for our Government to enter a trade war.
But Macron’s desire to wreak havoc on the UK economy as a Brexit punishment betrays the Continent’s fear that an unleashed Britain would leave the EU in the dust.
If Britain goes without a deal — and there’s every chance — then we will show Europe what they’re missing with tax cuts and a red tape bonfire that will supercharge the economy.
A sensible French leader would welcome a deal that works for both sides.
Time for l’enfant terrible to grow up.
That alone would add an average of 50 seconds to the usual 25 second passage through checks per vehicle.
An average of 10,000 lorries pass through Dover every day and are typically processed within two minutes.
The Port of Dover estimates that a delay of just 2 extra minutes to check and process each lorry would cause queues of over 17 miles.
A Cabinet minister told The Sun: “We can spend whatever we want to prepare on our side of the channel, but we are completely powerless to compel the French to do the same, and that is a very serious vulnerability for us.
“There is simply no alternative to Dover for just-in-time manufacturers or food exporters, and they together support a significant number of jobs.
“It would do northern French a lot of damage too, and really decimate Ireland, but we expect President Macron will initially attempt some heavy disruption in Calais to turn the screw on us to pay up.”
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said this week that alternatives to Calais such as Harwich and Felixstowe could replace Calais if France is difficult.
But another Cabinet source hit back to say no other British port in the south east is either deep enough or has the surrounding infrastructure to handle the size of Dover’s trade.
The source added: “Grayling is talking b******s, he literally doesn’t know what he’s talking about. There is no workaround to Dover, and rail or air freight is offers nowhere near the same capacity either”.
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The revelation comes as No10 also revealed the Cabinet will now get weekly updates on the no deal planning from Mr Raab, to show Brussels that Britain is getting ready for the worst.
The Financial Time also reported last night that the Cabinet was briefed yesterday on plans to charter ships to bring in emergency food and medicines to other ports under a no-deal Brexit if Calais get clogged up.
But Mrs May told the meeting: “The government’s priority is to secure a deal”.
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