Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, says that despite contingency measures being put in place, trucks carrying food and medical supplies could back up around the port city as haulage companies attempt to avoid expected tailbacks in Dover.
His comments follow the construction of a large lorry park near the harbour which cost £4 million.
And speaking two weeks ago, MP Michael Gove, minister for no-deal planning, said that the UK government was doing everything it could to avoid delays at ports post-Brexit, but added that he was not able to rule them out.
Mr Morgan, a Labour MP, also referred to leaked government documents which said that there could be 48-hour delays at Dover, leading to potential shortages of certain EU products.
‘Despite the efforts of hardworking, dedicated council officers at Portsmouth City Council and £4 million worth of tax payers’ money being spent on W4 [the lorry park site], there is the very real threat that lorry stacking and congestion could occur under a no-deal scenario,’ he said.
‘I have been informed by senior sources that 95% of food and medical supplies consumed in the Channel Islands comes through Portsmouth, and a 48-hour delay to freight services could see supermarket shelves empty in the islands. The only thing consistent about successive Tory governments is uncertainty, negligence and baton passing when it comes to Portsmouth International Port. I have, and will continue, to do everything in my power to stop Mr Johnson’s ego-driven campaign to crash this country
out of the EU without a deal.’
Meanwhile, a Jersey government spokeswoman acknowledged that there might be delays, but said the administration was confident about contingency plans that had been developed.
‘The Government of Jersey has repeatedly highlighted the possibility that there may be delays to the Island’s supply chains, or a lack of choice of products, in the event of a no-deal Brexit. We are not complacent about this risk. We are in continued engagement with the UK government as part of its Brexit planning process at both local
and national levels,’ she said.
‘As part of this engagement, we continue to feed in to the Hampshire Local Resilience Forum, and we are taking part in operational discussions around the resilience of the port of Portsmouth to ensure the ongoing continuity of our supply chains.
‘We are confident that this planning is robust, and we have substantial contingency preparations and flexibility to react to any potential disruption.’
The spokeswoman added that medical supplies could be airlifted into Jersey in the event of any major disruption.
‘We have established several business-continuity measures to maintain our supply chain and therefore do not anticipate suffering shortages of medicines or medical supplies. Health and Community Services have also developed additional stores of medical supplies, such as oxygen masks and surgical equipment, on top of our usual stocks,’ she added.
‘In the unlikely event our supply chain by boat should become problematic, HCS have also established air freight contingencies to ensure we are able to maintain our stocks and services as usual.’
