COVID-19: 'Continue to shop normally' - Boris Johnson tries to reassure public after France freight ban - Sky News

Britons have been told to continue shopping normally, despite France banning freight hauliers from crossing the English Channel over fears surrounding a new strain of coronavirus.

Addressing a Downing Street news conference, Boris Johnson said the "vast majority" of food and medical supplies are unaffected by the move.

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'We are very heavily reliant on imports from Europe'

"It is vital first to stress that these delays - which are only occurring at Dover - only affect human-handled freight, and that is only 20% of the total arriving from or departing to the European continent," he said.

And in a message to the public after fears were raised of potential shortages, the prime minister added: "These delays only apply to a very small percentage of food entering the UK, and as British supermarkets have said, their supply chains are strong and robust, so everyone can continue to shop normally," Mr Johnson said.

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Sainsbury's and Tesco have both said they have enough food for customers over Christmas, but warned of potential shortages of items like lettuce, cauliflower and citrus fruits if the freight ban continues.

Meanwhile, Tim Rycroft of the Food and Drink Federation said there was "no reason to be concerned for shoppers at the moment" - but voiced hopes the current serious disruption is a "wake up call to remind us of the fragility of these supply chains".

More from Covid-19

The PM said he had spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron and both sides are working to "unblock the flow of trade as fast as possible", as well as chairing a meeting of the government's emergency COBRA committee.

And while he said the government "fully" understands the "anxieties" of European countries about COVID-19 and the new variant, Mr Johnson told the news conference: "It is also true that we believe the risks of transmission by a solitary driver sitting alone in the cab are really very low.

"And so we hope to make progress as fast as we possibly can."

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Freight ban 'won't have impact' on vaccine

Answering questions from journalists later in the news conference, the PM said of his call with the French leader: "He stressed he was keen to sort it out in the next few hours if we can."

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, speaking alongside Mr Johnson, urged people not to travel to Kent with the closure of the French border.

And he said lorry drivers were "steering clear" and "as a result we haven't seen any problems in the area".

Mr Shapps added: "Most of the lorries who are there are primarily European hauliers looking to transit back across to the continent."

He said the moveable barrier on the M20 will be deployed as part of Operation Brock to enable traffic to flow in both directions.

The PM said the government had "activated our long-prepared plans" to cope with Brexit disruption in the county and had been able to reduce the number of lorries waiting on the M20 from 500 to 170.

Watch our special programme tonight as Isabel Webster is joined by a panel of experts to answer your questions about the new strain of the virus, COVID Christmas rules and the new Tier 4 measures.

COVID Christmas Crisis Q&A is at 6.30pm.

Send us your questions via WhatsApp on the number 07583 000853

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2020-12-21 18:00:00Z
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COVID-19: 'Continue to shop normally' - Boris Johnson tries to reassure public after France freight ban - Sky News

Britons have been told to continue shopping normally, despite France banning freight hauliers from crossing the English Channel over fears surrounding a new strain of coronavirus.

Addressing a Downing Street news conference, Boris Johnson said the "vast majority" of food and medical supplies are unaffected by the move.

"It is vital first to stress that these delays - which are only occurring at Dover - only affect human-handled freight, and that is only 20% of the total arriving from or departing to the European continent," he said.

And in a message to the public after fears were raised of potential shortages, the prime minister added: "These delays only apply to a very small percentage of food entering the UK, and as British supermarkets have said, their supply chains are strong and robust, so everyone can continue to shop normally," Mr Johnson said.

The PM said he had spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron and both sides are working to "unblock the flow of trade as fast as possible".

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And while he said the government "fully" understands the "anxieties" of European countries about COVID-19 and the new variant, Mr Johnson told the news conference: "It is also true that we believe the risks of transmission by a solitary driver sitting alone in the cab are really very low.

"And so we hope to make progress as fast as we possibly can."

More from Covid-19

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, speaking alongside Mr Johnson, urged people not to travel to Kent with the closure of the French border.

And he said lorry drivers were "steering clear" and "as a result we haven't seen any problems in the area".

Mr Shapps added: "Most of the lorries who are there are primarily European hauliers looking to transit back across to the continent."

He said the moveable barrier on the M20 will be deployed as part of Operation Brock to enable traffic to flow in both directions.

The PM said the government had "activated our long-prepared plans" to cope with Brexit disruption in the county and had been able to reduce the number of lorries waiting on the M20 from 500 to 170.

Watch our special programme tonight as Isabel Webster is joined by a panel of experts to answer your questions about the new strain of the virus, COVID Christmas rules and the new Tier 4 measures.

COVID Christmas Crisis Q&A is at 6.30pm.

Send us your questions via WhatsApp on the number 07583 000853

Let's block ads! (Why?)

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2020-12-21 17:32:38Z
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Essex lorry deaths: Two found guilty of killing 39 migrants - BBC News

Essex Police

Two men have been found guilty of the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese migrants found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex.

The migrants suffocated in the sealed container en route from Zeebrugge to Purfleet in October 2019.

Eamonn Harrison, 24, who dropped off the trailer at the Belgian port, and people-smuggler Gheorghe Nica, 43, were convicted by an Old Bailey jury.

Two others were convicted of being part of a wider people-smuggling conspiracy.

The trial examined three smuggling attempts by the gang - two that were successful on 11 and 18 October, and the final trip on 23 October.

Lorry driver Christopher Kennedy, 24, from County Armagh, collected the trailers from Purfleet on the earlier two runs, claiming he thought he was transporting cigarettes.

But the jury found Kennedy and Valentin Calota, 38, of Birmingham, guilty of conspiring to assist illegal immigration.

During the trial, jurors were given a snapshot of the victims - who included a bricklayer, a university graduate and a nailbar technician - and their dreams of a better life.

Many of their families borrowed heavily to fund their passage, relying on their potential future earnings once they got into the UK.

• The supposed 'VIP' journey that killed 39 people
• Irish smuggling connection to Essex lorry deaths

Det Ch Insp Daniel Stoten, from Essex Police, said: "If you look at the method, the way they transported human beings... we wouldn't transport animals in that way."

Another two men - Irish haulage boss Ronan Hughes, 41, of Tyholland, County Monaghan, Ireland, and 26-year-old lorry driver Maurice Robinson - had previously admitted manslaughter.

Home Secretary Priti Patel described the deaths as a "truly tragic incident".

Essex Police

Prosecutors said in the fatal run, the container became a "tomb" as temperatures in the unit reached an "unbearable" 38.5C (101F).

The migrants, aged 15 to 44, were sealed inside for at least 12 hours.

They had used a metal pole to try to punch through the roof, but only managed to dent the interior.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones said: "There was no way out, and no-one to hear them; no-one to help them."

Essex Police

Harrison, of Newry, County Down, towed the trailer to Zeebrugge, from where it was transported to Purfleet.

During the 10-week trial, he claimed he did not know there were people in the trailer and that he watched "a wee bit of Netflix" in bed as they were loaded on.

He also said he had no idea there were migrants in two other trailers that he had dropped off at the same port in the previous 12 days.

Robinson, from County Armagh, collected the trailer when it arrived on UK shores just after midnight on 23 October.

His boss, Hughes, had messaged him: "Give them air quickly don't let them out.". Robinson gave a thumbs-up in reply.

But when Robinson stopped on a nearby industrial estate, he found that the migrants were all dead.

PA Media

There was a series of telephone conversations between him and Hughes and Nica, of Basildon, Essex, before Robinson eventually dialled 999.

In his evidence, Nica said Robinson told him: "I have a problem here - dead bodies in the trailer."

Det Ch Insp Stoten said that many of the police officers who attended "were really young in service" and it was possibly the first time some had ever seen a dead person.

He said he believed the "absolutely horrendous scene" would stay with those officers "for the rest of their career and, quite probably, the rest of lives".

On all three runs, Nica had arranged cars and a van to transport the migrants at the UK end.

Jurors were shown CCTV footage of him carrying a holdall of cash to Hughes's room at the Ibis hotel, Thurrock, early on 19 October.

Essex Police

Nica admitted to conspiring to assist illegal immigration in the first two runs, but he insisted that he believed the third run was all to do with smuggling cigarettes.

The mechanic told jurors he had been roped into people-smuggling, and said: "I never wanted to be involved in this kind of job."

The day after the bodies were found, Nica travelled to Romania, claiming he was "scared" of a "big, big investigation", but prosecutors said the defendant's version of events was "ridiculous".

Det Ch Insp Stoten said the gang stood to make between £10,000 and £12,000 per person transported, "the lion's share of which would have gone to Ronan Hughes and Gheorghe Nica".

Essex Police

The jury had heard that on 14 October, between the two successful runs, Kennedy was found at the French end of the Channel Tunnel with 20 Vietnamese migrants in his trailer.

At least two of those people ended up dying in the fatal run.

Police believe the smugglers had "doubled-up" the load on 23 October because of the problem on 14 October, and that was what led to the deaths.

Analysis by Daniel Sandford, BBC Home Affairs Correspondent

This gang had been smuggling people for months and months, the Old Bailey heard.

On the first of several successful runs on the same route, a couple, Marie Andrews and Stewart Cox, saw people getting out of a van on a country lane in Orsett, Essex, and dialled 999.

Police attended but did not seize CCTV footage from the nearby golf course, in which a lorry and other vehicles were seen on the lane.

If, perhaps, Essex Police had managed to get to that footage, follow it up and identify some of the vehicles before the fatal run 12 days later, then this gang might possibly have been disrupted before these 39 people died.

Asked about that, the force said it could only allocate the resources available at the time.

But it says that now, if there are ever reports of people in the back of a lorry and the driver is present, the driver will be arrested.

Essex Police / PA Wire

Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga, 28, of Hobart Road, Tilbury, Essex, and Gazmir Nuzi, 43, of Barclay Road, Tottenham, north London, had earlier admitted assisting unlawful immigration linked to the case.

Mr Justice Sweeney adjourned sentencing of all the defendants to 7, 8 and 11 January.

Ms Patel said her "thoughts remain with those affected by this tragedy".

"Today's convictions only strengthen my resolve to do all I can to go after the people-smugglers who prey on the vulnerable and trade in human misery," she added.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk

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2020-12-21 15:53:00Z
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Essex lorry deaths: Two found guilty of killing 39 migrants - BBC News

Essex Police

Two men have been found guilty of the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese migrants found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex.

The migrants suffocated in the sealed container en route from Zeebrugge to Purfleet in October 2019.

Eamonn Harrison, 24, who dropped off the trailer at the Belgian port, and people-smuggler Gheorghe Nica, 43, were convicted by an Old Bailey jury.

Two others were convicted of being part of a wider people-smuggling conspiracy.

The trial examined three smuggling attempts by the gang - two that were successful on 11 and 18 October, and the final trip on 23 October.

Lorry driver Christopher Kennedy, 24, from County Armagh, collected the trailers from Purfleet on the earlier two runs, claiming he thought he was transporting cigarettes.

But the jury found Kennedy and Valentin Calota, 38, of Birmingham, guilty of conspiring to assist illegal immigration.

During the trial, jurors were given a snapshot of the victims - who included a bricklayer, a university graduate and a nailbar technician - and their dreams of a better life.

Many of their families borrowed heavily to fund their passage, relying on their potential future earnings once they got into the UK.

• The supposed 'VIP' journey that killed 39 people

Det Ch Insp Daniel Stoten, from Essex Police, said: "If you look at the method, the way they transported human beings... we wouldn't transport animals in that way."

Another two men - Irish haulage boss Ronan Hughes, 41, and 26-year-old lorry driver Maurice Robinson - had previously admitted manslaughter.

Home Secretary Priti Patel described the deaths as a "truly tragic incident".

Essex Police

Prosecutors said in the fatal run, the container became a "tomb" as temperatures in the unit reached an "unbearable" 38.5C (101F).

The migrants, aged 15 to 44, were sealed inside for at least 12 hours.

They had used a metal pole to try to punch through the roof, but only managed to dent the interior.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones said: "There was no way out, and no-one to hear them; no-one to help them."

Essex Police

Harrison, of Newry, County Down, towed the trailer to Zeebrugge, from where it was transported to Purfleet.

During the 10-week trial, he claimed he did not know there were people in the trailer and that he watched "a wee bit of Netflix" in bed as they were loaded on.

He also said he had no idea there were migrants in two other trailers that he had dropped off at the same port in the previous 12 days.

Robinson, from County Armagh, collected the trailer when it arrived on UK shores just after midnight on 23 October.

His boss, Hughes, had messaged him: "Give them air quickly don't let them out.". Robinson gave a thumbs-up in reply.

But when Robinson stopped on a nearby industrial estate, he found that the migrants were all dead.

PA Media

There was a series of telephone conversations between him and Hughes and Nica, of Basildon, Essex, before Robinson eventually dialled 999.

In his evidence, Nica said Robinson told him: "I have a problem here - dead bodies in the trailer."

On all three runs, Nica had arranged cars and a van to transport the migrants at the UK end.

Jurors were shown CCTV footage of him carrying a holdall of cash to Hughes's room at the Ibis hotel, Thurrock, early on 19 October.

Essex Police

Nica admitted to conspiring to assist illegal immigration in the first two runs, but he insisted that he believed the third run was all to do with smuggling cigarettes.

The mechanic told jurors he had been roped into people-smuggling, and said: "I never wanted to be involved in this kind of job."

The day after the bodies were found, Nica travelled to Romania, claiming he was "scared" of a "big, big investigation", but prosecutors said the defendant's version of events was "ridiculous".

Essex Police

The jury had heard that on 14 October, between the two successful runs, Kennedy was found at the French end of the Channel Tunnel with 20 Vietnamese migrants in his trailer.

At least two of those people ended up dying in the fatal run.

Police believe the smugglers had "doubled-up" the load on 23 October because of the problem on 14 October, and that was what led to the deaths.

Analysis by Daniel Sandford, BBC Home Affairs Correspondent

This gang had been smuggling people for months and months, the Old Bailey heard.

On the first of several successful runs on the same route, a couple, Marie Andrews and Stewart Cox, saw people getting out of a van on a country lane in Orsett, Essex, and dialled 999.

Police attended but did not seize CCTV footage from the nearby golf course, in which a lorry and other vehicles were seen on the lane.

If, perhaps, Essex Police had managed to get to that footage, follow it up and identify some of the vehicles before the fatal run 12 days later, then this gang might possibly have been disrupted before these 39 people died.

Asked about that, the force said it could only allocate the resources available at the time.

But it says that now, if there are ever reports of people in the back of a lorry and the driver is present, the driver will be arrested.

Essex Police / PA Wire

Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga, 28, of Hobart Road, Tilbury, Essex, and Gazmir Nuzi, 43, of Barclay Road, Tottenham, north London, had earlier admitted assisting unlawful immigration linked to the case.

Mr Justice Sweeney adjourned sentencing of all the defendants to 7, 8 and 11 January.

Ms Patel said her "thoughts remain with those affected by this tragedy".

"Today's convictions only strengthen my resolve to do all I can to go after the people-smugglers who prey on the vulnerable and trade in human misery," she added.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk

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2020-12-21 15:05:00Z
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Essex lorry deaths: Two found guilty of killing 39 migrants - BBC News

Essex Police

Two men have been found guilty of the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese migrants found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex.

The migrants suffocated in the sealed container en route from Zeebrugge to Purfleet in October 2019.

Eamonn Harrison, 24, who dropped off the trailer at the Belgian port, and people-smuggler Gheorghe Nica, 43, were convicted by an Old Bailey jury.

Two others were convicted of being part of a wider people-smuggling conspiracy.

Essex Police / PA Wire

The trial examined three smuggling attempts by the gang - two that were successful on 11 and 18 October, and the final trip on 23 October.

Lorry driver Christopher Kennedy, 24, from County Armagh, collected the trailers from Purfleet on the earlier two runs, claiming he thought he was transporting cigarettes.

But the jury found Kennedy and Valentin Calota, 38, of Birmingham, guilty of conspiring to assist illegal immigration.

• The supposed 'VIP' journey that killed 39 people

Det Ch Insp Daniel Stoten, from Essex Police, said: "If you look at the method, the way they transported human beings... we wouldn't transport animals in that way."

Another two men - Irish haulage boss Ronan Hughes, 41, and 26-year-old lorry driver Maurice Robinson - had previously admitted manslaughter.

Home Secretary Priti Patel described the deaths as a "truly tragic incident".

Essex Police

Prosecutors said in the fatal run, the container became a "tomb" as temperatures in the unit reached an "unbearable" 38.5C (101F).

The migrants, aged 15 to 44, were sealed inside for at least 12 hours.

They had used a metal pole to try to punch through the roof, but only managed to dent the interior.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones said: "There was no way out, and no-one to hear them; no-one to help them."

Essex Police

Harrison, of Newry, County Down, towed the trailer to Zeebrugge, from where it was transported to Purfleet.

During the 10-week trial, he claimed he did not know there were people in the trailer and that he watched "a wee bit of Netflix" in bed as they were loaded on.

He also said he had no idea there were migrants in two other trailers that he had dropped off at the same port in the previous 12 days.

Robinson, from County Armagh, collected the trailer when it arrived on UK shores just after midnight on 23 October.

His boss, Hughes, had messaged him: "Give them air quickly don't let them out.". Robinson gave a thumbs-up in reply.

But when Robinson stopped on a nearby industrial estate, he found that the migrants were all dead.

PA Media

There was a series of telephone conversations between him and Hughes and Nica, of Basildon, Essex, before Robinson eventually dialled 999.

In his evidence, Nica said Robinson told him: "I have a problem here - dead bodies in the trailer."

On all three runs, Nica had arranged cars and a van to transport the migrants at the UK end.

Jurors were shown CCTV footage of him carrying a holdall of cash to Hughes's room at the Ibis hotel, Thurrock, early on 19 October.

Essex Police

Nica admitted to conspiring to assist illegal immigration in the first two runs, but he insisted that he believed the third run was all to do with smuggling cigarettes.

The mechanic told jurors he had been roped into people-smuggling, and said: "I never wanted to be involved in this kind of job."

The day after the bodies were found, Nica travelled to Romania, claiming he was "scared" of a "big, big investigation", but prosecutors said the defendant's version of events was "ridiculous".

The jury had heard that on 14 October, between the two successful runs, Kennedy was found at the French end of the Channel Tunnel with 20 Vietnamese migrants in his trailer.

At least two of those people ended up dying in the fatal run.

Police believe the smugglers had "doubled-up" the load on 23 October because of the problem on 14 October, and that was what led to the deaths.

Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga, 28, of Hobart Road, Tilbury, Essex, and Gazmir Nuzi, 43, of Barclay Road, Tottenham, north London, had earlier admitted assisting unlawful immigration linked to the case.

Mr Justice Sweeney adjourned sentencing of all the defendants to 7, 8 and 11 January.

Ms Patel said her "thoughts remain with those affected by this tragedy".

"Today's convictions only strengthen my resolve to do all I can to go after the people-smugglers who prey on the vulnerable and trade in human misery," she added.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk

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2020-12-21 14:36:00Z
52781257787346