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Portable toilets could soon line the roads of Kent as lorry drivers face long queues at the end of the Brexit transition period.
Transport Minister Rachel Maclean revealed plans for sanitary facilities to be installed in the county and other parts of the UK which might be hit by severe transport delays.
Ms Maclean told the Transport Select Committee on Wednesday: “We have detailed plans that we’ve worked up for provision of not only Portaloos but other facilities for drivers.
“Not only in Kent, should it be necessary – should there be stationary traffic – but also in a range of other areas throughout the country, because we really want to minimise the impact on those drivers who are already working really hard.”
Brexit: UK’s relationship with Europe – In pictures
1/44 1975
Margaret Thatcher, sporting a jumper bearing the flags of European nations, in Parliament Square during her ‘Yes to Europe’ campaign
PA
2/44 2016
Boris Johnson speaks at the launch of the Vote Leave campaign, in Truro, on May 11, 2016
Reuters
3/44 2020
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage holds up a small Union Jack flag following a vote on the ratification of the Brexit deal during a European Parliament plenary session in Brussels on January 29, 2020
AFP via Getty Images
4/44 1962
French President General Charles de Gaulle gives a televised speech on New Year’s Eve 1962
AFP/Getty Images
5/44 1973
A 50p coin introduced in 1973 to mark Britain’s entry into the European Economic Community (EEC)
6/44 1972
Marie-Louise Kwiatkowski throws ink over Edward Heath in Brussels as he prepares to sign the Treaty of Accession
Popperfoto/Getty Images
7/44 1973
Gertrude Shilling’s Royal Ascot ‘Common Market’ outfit which was designed by her milliner son David
Getty Images
8/44 1988
Jacques Delors, President of the European Comission, addresses the Trade Union Congress in Bournemouth to pose the idea of a wider European concept
PA
9/44 1989
Margaret Thatcher greets French European Commission President Jacques Delors, months after she vowed to oppose “a European superstate exercising a new dominance from Brussels”
AFP via Getty Images
10/44 2001
Greengrocer Steve Thoburn sells fruit and vegetables in pounds and ounces rather than kilos and grams, in protest at the EU’s official weights and measurement system
Reuters
11/44 1998
European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Yves-Thibault de Silguy and President of the European Commission Jacques Santer mark the minting of the first euro coin
Reuters
12/44 2002
Ray Egan, a retired policeman from Harborne, Birmingham, wears a traditional John Bull outfit as he burns an imitation Euro bank note outside the Bank of England to stress his desire to keep the pound as Britain’s currency
PA
13/44 February 2016
David Cameron announces the date of the EU referendum outside 10 Downing Street
PA
14/44 May 2016
Boris Johnson, surrounded by Vote Leave and Vote Remain activists, speaks in Winchester as part of his Vote Leave campaign tour in the run up to the EU referendum
PA
15/44 June 2016
Nigel Farage launches a referendum poster campaign in Smith Square, London
PA
16/44 June 2016
Michael Gove and Boris Johnson (right) on the Vote Leave campaign bus
PA
17/44 June 2016
A boat forming part of a Fishing for Leave pro-Brexit flotilla makes its way along the River Thames
PA
18/44 June 2016
Kate Hoey and Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, show their support for the ‘Leave’ campaign aboard a boat on the River Thames
Getty Images
19/44 June 2016
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn adjusts his microphone as he addresses members of the shadow cabinet on the EU referendum at the TUC Congress Centre, London
PA
20/44 June 2016
A boat carrying Remain supporters including Singer, Bob Geldoff shout and wave at Brexit fishing boats as they sail up the river Thames
AFP/Getty Images
21/44 June 2016
Former prime ministers Sir John Major (left) and Tony Blair at a Remain campaign event at the University of Ulster in Londonderry
PA
22/44 June 24, 2016
Pro-Eu “Stronger In” campaign supporters react after hearing the results of the EU referendum at London’s Royal Festival Hall
PA
23/44 June 24, 2016
Nigel Farage at the Leave EU party in London, where he celebrated the referendum result
PA
24/44 July 2016
David Cameron, with wife Samantha and children Nancy, 12, Elwen, 10, and Florence, 5, hug outside 10 Downing Street as he announces his resignation as Prime Minister
PA
25/44 November 2016
Nigel Farage becomes the first British politician to meet Donald Trump following his victory in the US election
26/44 November 2016
Investment manager Gina Miller speaks after the High Court decides that the Prime Minister cannot trigger Brexit without parliamentary approval at The Royal Courts Of Justice
Getty Images
27/44 March 2017
Britain’s Ambassador to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow hand-delivers Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit letter in notice of the UK’s intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty to EU Council President Donald Tusk
PA
28/44 May 2017
A Banksy artwork painted on a former amusement arcade near Dover’s busy ferry terminal shows an EU flag with a workman chipping away one of the stars
PA
29/44 June 2017
Theresa May listens as the results of the 2017 general election are declared
AP
30/44 October 2017
Theresa May takes a seat as she arrives for a bilateral meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk during an EU summit in Brussels
AFP/Getty Images
31/44 June 2018
Theresa May meeting with Donald Tusk inside No 10 Downing Street during bilateral talks
PA
32/44 September 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May arrives for a European Union leaders’ summit in Salzburg, Austria
Reuters
33/44 April 2019
Theresa May arrives at the European Council in Brussels to discuss Brexit with European Union leaders
PA
34/44 May 2019
Theresa May announces her resignation as PM in an emotional statement outside 10 Downing Street on May 24
Getty Images
35/44 March 2019
Brexit Demonstrators come head-to-head in Westminster
Jeremy Selwyn
36/44 September 2019
Demonstrators remonstrate with police officers on Parliament Square, during an anti-government protests calling for the Prime Minister’s resignation, near Whitehall and Downing Street
AFP/Getty Images
37/44 October 2019
Anti-Brexit protesters in Parliament Square, London, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers a statement in the House of Commons on his new Brexit deal
PA
38/44 December 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is greeted by staff as he arrives back at 10 Downing Street, after the Conservative Party swept to an overall majority in the General Election
PA
39/44 December 31, 2019
The London Eye lit up with the colours of the European Unionduring the New Year celebrations
PA
40/44 January 2020
Anti-Brexit protestor Steve Bray attempts to appear in shot behind a television crew on Abingdon Green, outside the Houses of Parliament
PA
41/44 January 2020
Britain’s MEP Richard Corbett holds a banner after a vote on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill at the European Parliament in Brussels
Reuters
42/44 January 2020
Sir Tim Barrow, UK Permanent Representative to the EU, left, delivers the Instruments of Ratification to European Council Secretary General Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen, at the Europa building in Brussels
AP
43/44 January 2020
Coins are checked from storage bins after pressing at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Pontyclun, Wales, during production of the new 50p Brexit coin, which bears the inscription ‘Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations’ and the date the UK leaves the EU. Around 3 million Brexit coins will enter banks, Post Offices and shops nationwide from Friday 31 January, with a further 7 million entering circulation later this year
PA
44/44 January
Mike Pompeo is welcomed by Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the two countries prepare to forge a new trade deal
Getty Images
1/44 1975
Margaret Thatcher, sporting a jumper bearing the flags of European nations, in Parliament Square during her ‘Yes to Europe’ campaign
PA
2/44 2016
Boris Johnson speaks at the launch of the Vote Leave campaign, in Truro, on May 11, 2016
Reuters
3/44 2020
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage holds up a small Union Jack flag following a vote on the ratification of the Brexit deal during a European Parliament plenary session in Brussels on January 29, 2020
AFP via Getty Images
4/44 1962
French President General Charles de Gaulle gives a televised speech on New Year’s Eve 1962
AFP/Getty Images
5/44 1973
A 50p coin introduced in 1973 to mark Britain’s entry into the European Economic Community (EEC)
6/44 1972
Marie-Louise Kwiatkowski throws ink over Edward Heath in Brussels as he prepares to sign the Treaty of Accession
Popperfoto/Getty Images
7/44 1973
Gertrude Shilling’s Royal Ascot ‘Common Market’ outfit which was designed by her milliner son David
Getty Images
8/44 1988
Jacques Delors, President of the European Comission, addresses the Trade Union Congress in Bournemouth to pose the idea of a wider European concept
PA
9/44 1989
Margaret Thatcher greets French European Commission President Jacques Delors, months after she vowed to oppose “a European superstate exercising a new dominance from Brussels”
AFP via Getty Images
10/44 2001
Greengrocer Steve Thoburn sells fruit and vegetables in pounds and ounces rather than kilos and grams, in protest at the EU’s official weights and measurement system
Reuters
11/44 1998
European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Yves-Thibault de Silguy and President of the European Commission Jacques Santer mark the minting of the first euro coin
Reuters
12/44 2002
Ray Egan, a retired policeman from Harborne, Birmingham, wears a traditional John Bull outfit as he burns an imitation Euro bank note outside the Bank of England to stress his desire to keep the pound as Britain’s currency
PA
13/44 February 2016
David Cameron announces the date of the EU referendum outside 10 Downing Street
PA
14/44 May 2016
Boris Johnson, surrounded by Vote Leave and Vote Remain activists, speaks in Winchester as part of his Vote Leave campaign tour in the run up to the EU referendum
PA
15/44 June 2016
Nigel Farage launches a referendum poster campaign in Smith Square, London
PA
16/44 June 2016
Michael Gove and Boris Johnson (right) on the Vote Leave campaign bus
PA
17/44 June 2016
A boat forming part of a Fishing for Leave pro-Brexit flotilla makes its way along the River Thames
PA
18/44 June 2016
Kate Hoey and Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, show their support for the ‘Leave’ campaign aboard a boat on the River Thames
Getty Images
19/44 June 2016
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn adjusts his microphone as he addresses members of the shadow cabinet on the EU referendum at the TUC Congress Centre, London
PA
20/44 June 2016
A boat carrying Remain supporters including Singer, Bob Geldoff shout and wave at Brexit fishing boats as they sail up the river Thames
AFP/Getty Images
21/44 June 2016
Former prime ministers Sir John Major (left) and Tony Blair at a Remain campaign event at the University of Ulster in Londonderry
PA
22/44 June 24, 2016
Pro-Eu “Stronger In” campaign supporters react after hearing the results of the EU referendum at London’s Royal Festival Hall
PA
23/44 June 24, 2016
Nigel Farage at the Leave EU party in London, where he celebrated the referendum result
PA
24/44 July 2016
David Cameron, with wife Samantha and children Nancy, 12, Elwen, 10, and Florence, 5, hug outside 10 Downing Street as he announces his resignation as Prime Minister
PA
25/44 November 2016
Nigel Farage becomes the first British politician to meet Donald Trump following his victory in the US election
26/44 November 2016
Investment manager Gina Miller speaks after the High Court decides that the Prime Minister cannot trigger Brexit without parliamentary approval at The Royal Courts Of Justice
Getty Images
27/44 March 2017
Britain’s Ambassador to the EU, Sir Tim Barrow hand-delivers Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit letter in notice of the UK’s intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty to EU Council President Donald Tusk
PA
28/44 May 2017
A Banksy artwork painted on a former amusement arcade near Dover’s busy ferry terminal shows an EU flag with a workman chipping away one of the stars
PA
29/44 June 2017
Theresa May listens as the results of the 2017 general election are declared
AP
30/44 October 2017
Theresa May takes a seat as she arrives for a bilateral meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk during an EU summit in Brussels
AFP/Getty Images
31/44 June 2018
Theresa May meeting with Donald Tusk inside No 10 Downing Street during bilateral talks
PA
32/44 September 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May arrives for a European Union leaders’ summit in Salzburg, Austria
Reuters
33/44 April 2019
Theresa May arrives at the European Council in Brussels to discuss Brexit with European Union leaders
PA
34/44 May 2019
Theresa May announces her resignation as PM in an emotional statement outside 10 Downing Street on May 24
Getty Images
35/44 March 2019
Brexit Demonstrators come head-to-head in Westminster
Jeremy Selwyn
36/44 September 2019
Demonstrators remonstrate with police officers on Parliament Square, during an anti-government protests calling for the Prime Minister’s resignation, near Whitehall and Downing Street
AFP/Getty Images
37/44 October 2019
Anti-Brexit protesters in Parliament Square, London, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivers a statement in the House of Commons on his new Brexit deal
PA
38/44 December 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is greeted by staff as he arrives back at 10 Downing Street, after the Conservative Party swept to an overall majority in the General Election
PA
39/44 December 31, 2019
The London Eye lit up with the colours of the European Unionduring the New Year celebrations
PA
40/44 January 2020
Anti-Brexit protestor Steve Bray attempts to appear in shot behind a television crew on Abingdon Green, outside the Houses of Parliament
PA
41/44 January 2020
Britain’s MEP Richard Corbett holds a banner after a vote on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill at the European Parliament in Brussels
Reuters
42/44 January 2020
Sir Tim Barrow, UK Permanent Representative to the EU, left, delivers the Instruments of Ratification to European Council Secretary General Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen, at the Europa building in Brussels
AP
43/44 January 2020
Coins are checked from storage bins after pressing at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Pontyclun, Wales, during production of the new 50p Brexit coin, which bears the inscription ‘Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations’ and the date the UK leaves the EU. Around 3 million Brexit coins will enter banks, Post Offices and shops nationwide from Friday 31 January, with a further 7 million entering circulation later this year
PA
44/44 January
Mike Pompeo is welcomed by Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the two countries prepare to forge a new trade deal
Getty Images
It comes after the Government confirmed a week ago that lorry drivers using the Channel crossings in Kent will need an access permit to enter the county after the transition period ends.
Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has previously warned that queues of up to 7,000 trucks could form in Kent unless businesses do more to prepare.
Meanwhile, ahead of the latest EU summit in Brussels, Boris Johnson has voiced his “disappointment” that talks between the two sides had not been able to move forward more quickly.
The Prime Minister had previously said that he would walk away from the negotiations unless there was agreement by the time of the two-day gathering in the Belgian capital, starting Thursday.
However in a call with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel on Wednesday evening, he said he would “reflect” on the outcome of the summit before making a decision.
Meanwhile, Mrs von der Leyen and Mr Michel again reiterated that while the EU still wanted a deal, it could not be at “any price”.
Following the call a No 10 spokesman said: “The Prime Minister noted the desirability of a deal, but expressed his disappointment that more progress had not been made over the past two weeks.
“The Prime Minister said that he looked forward to hearing the outcome of the European Council and would reflect before setting out the UK’s next steps in the light of his statement of September 7.”