The Government is preparing to launch an app to help lorry drivers avoid major disruption in Kent in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
Ministers are developing new software which will point drivers to one of seven inland sites to conduct extra border checks away from major ports in a move that will prevent lengthy queues piling up at Dover and Felixstowe.
On Saturday, a combination of Covid disruption, technical issues at British ports and Brexit stockpiling saw ten-mile lorry queues in Calais, as up to 9,000 HGVs – 3,000 more than normal – sought to cross the Channel.
More than 40 information and advice sites have also been opened across the UK at motorway services and truck stops, and a “haulier handbook” has been translated into 13 languages to bring drivers up to speed with new border processes due to take place from January 1.
To cope with additional customs checks, 900 border officers have been recruited, with the Government setting a target of 2,000 by March next year.
Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, is also preparing to take direct control of contingency plans by heading up a new “super” cabinet sub-committee that will convene in the New Year, and be responsible for getting the country ready for the end of the transition period.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has also launched a Fish Export Service to help streamline extra paperwork for fishermen who continue to export their catch to European markets. The new system will provide technical support to fishermen and help smooth any potential trade disruption resulting from no deal.
To ensure the Government’s plans stand up to scrutiny, ministers have also mapped out “every single foreseeable scenario” for no-deal, to ensure they can respond swiftly to emerging problems.
To stress-test these, a number of live exercises have been run across Whitehall in recent months, including running fresh produce across the border.
A new exercise, codenamed “Operation Capstone” will take place on Wednesday, which is expected to involve the devolved administrations and will see officials testing border disruption, issues with the transfer of data between the UK and EU, and boats entering the UK’s waters.
“It will be everything that could go wrong in January,” a Whitehall source said.
The plans emerged as a former Conservative Party chairman on Saturday branded Mr Johnson an “English nationalist” over his handling of the trade deal negotiations and accused him of being caught up in “runaway train of English exceptionalism” over his belief that the UK could prosper under no-deal.
Lord Patten of Barnes, who also served as Governor of Hong Kong, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I hope that I’m wrong to feel so depressed about the outlook, but I don’t think that Mr Johnson is a Conservative.
“I want the best for my country, I fear for what’s happening at the moment and I fear for our reputation around the world; I fear for what will happen economically.”
Meanwhile, a blue on blue row broke out over plans for the Royal Navy to arrest French fishermen who fish in UK waters illegally after the transition period ends.
The Telegraph understands that Whitehall lawyers have begun drafting secondary legislation which enables the Navy to take tougher enforcement action against EU trawlers trespassing in the UK’s exclusive economic zone, which extends up to 200 nautical miles from shore.
In a move likened to the “cod wars” with Iceland in the 1970s, an additional patrol ship will also join three in current deployment, to stop and potentially impound EU fishing vessels if they illegally enter this exclusive economic zone.
On Saturday, Tobias Ellwood, the chairman of the Commons defence committee, branded the reports “absolutely irresponsible” and warned that a row between the UK and France would only embolden Britain’s enemies.
However, Admiral Lord West, the former First Sea Lord, insisted it was “absolutely appropriate” for the Royal Navy to defend the country’s territorial waters if the Government decided that the UK’s fishermen should have exclusive access to it.
He added that potential altercations between British and “stormy” EU fishermen could result in “a punch up”, and it therefore might be necessary to call in the Royal Marines.
France on Saturday shrugged off plans by Britain to deploy naval vessels to protect its fishing rights in the wake of a possible no-deal Brexit, as an Elysee official said: “Keep calm and carry on.”
A new Border Operations Centre, manned 24/7, will also use state of the art technology to identify the early signs of disruption and “act at pace” to solve issues before they escalate.
It comes after ‘Operation Brock’, the new traffic system designed to deal with disruption on the M20 in Kent as a result of lengthy lorry queues, was trialed on Friday.