Nicola Sturgeon urges UK and France to 'reach agreement' on freight

Scots food exporters have been "devastated" by the loss of Christmas trade after the shutdown of cross-channel freight supplies, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Lorries parked on the M20 in Kent after the Port of Dover was closed

The First Minister has now urged the UK Government to reach a deal with France on getting freight moving again “without delay.”

The SNP leader took part in a COBR meeting today with the Boris Johnson and other UK ministers seeking to resolve the impasse at the so called “short straights.”

France has closed the key freight route between Calais and Dover amid concerns over the prevalence of the new Covid-19 variant in the UK and the threat of it spreading to the continent. A protocol is currently being negotiated to get freight moving again.

Ms Sturgeon told MSPs today: "The situation is serious, urgent and, for our food exporters, rapidly deteriorating.

“It needs the UK government to reach agreement with France, without delay, to get freight moving again. There is no time to lose."

Ms Sturgeon will join COBR again later this afternoon with hopes of an agreement which would allow freight movement to resume tomorrow.

There are no concerns about medicine supplies over the freight issue, Ms Sturgeon added, and there are no "immediate concerns" about food supplies.

"Supermarkets are well stocked and so there is absolutely no need for anyone to buy more than planned," she added.

But fresh produce supplies could come under pressure if the situation is not resolved soon.

"What is of real and immediate concern is the impact on our food exporters, especially our seafood sector," Ms Sturgeon added.

"This is the peak time of year for seafood exports and the Christmas export trade is now almost certainly lost. This is devastating for our world class seafood businesses and they need our support."

"We are liaising with the sector on the need for immediate financial support and I also raised the issue of compensation at COBR yesterday," she added.

"However, what the sector needs most of all is for the UK government and France to agree a protocol to get freight moving again without delay.

"If that doesn’t happen almost immediately, the sector stands to lose its New Year export trade too."

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