>**Lest we forget…**
>
>Chris Grayling was warned on #bbcqt, back when David Dimbleby was still host, that there would be lorry queues 20+ miles long at Dover. Needless to say, in true Grayling fashion, he dismissed it with a show of arrogance and ignorance.
>
>(https://nitter.net/woodgnomology/status/1512200780849291265 /video)
>[Mail: The Easter getaway logjam! Motorists face 30-mile tailbacks on M25 while holidaymakers heading to Dover are hit by ‘traffic tsunami’ with the M20 STILL shut and P&O Ferries services suspended as airport chaos continues](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10698727/The-Easter-getaway-nightmare-BA-easyJet-cancel-110-flights-TODAY.html)
>
> * Air passengers at Manchester and Gatwick again face huge queues amid cancellations due to staff shortages
> * Those travelling to Gatwick Airport by rail this weekend face further misery with no Gatwick Express services
> * Southern trains between London Victoria and East Croydon will also be cancelled with buses running instead
> * More traffic chaos in Kent due to Channel crossing delays caused by ongoing suspension of P&O Ferries
> * British Airways cancels 68 planes to locations including Athens and Prague today, while easyJet stops 42
> * Disruption on Great Western Railway and TfL between London Paddington and Slough due to points failure
> * UK’s busiest weekend of travel since pandemic began with families leaving and returning at the same time
>
>(https://archive.ph/RAuUw)
There is a famous novel in French called the ‘La Disparition’ (The Disappearance) whereby someone has written an entire book without the letter ‘e’ appearing. It’s odd to read because you sense that something is amiss and the phrasing can be jarring, but it’s not immediately obvious what’s awry. I get a similar feeling reading BBC articles these days. In this one, as in the one yesterday on the same subject, one reads of Easter holiday traffic, P&O problems, windy weather, a daring but vague nod to IT systems at the bottom of today’s, but, the word ‘Brexit’ is never put on paper.
A new post-Brexit system which, to no-one’s great surprise, has teething problems when rolled out and tested in the real world for the first time. HMRC having to more or less switch the system off and allow lorries through unchecked.
3 comments
>**Lest we forget…**
>
>Chris Grayling was warned on #bbcqt, back when David Dimbleby was still host, that there would be lorry queues 20+ miles long at Dover. Needless to say, in true Grayling fashion, he dismissed it with a show of arrogance and ignorance.
>
>(https://nitter.net/woodgnomology/status/1512200780849291265 /video)
–
>[iNews: Easter travel: Lorry drivers stuck in Dover queues treated like ‘animals’ with no food, water or toilet access](https://inews.co.uk/news/easter-travel-drivers-stuck-dover-queues-treatment-no-food-water-toilets-1564847)
>
>Stranded truckers have been forced to go to the toilet on the hard shoulder, with thousands of coastbound lorries snaking along Kent’s M20 for days
–
>[The Register: Vital UK customs system outage contributes to travel chaos at its borders](https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/08/after_minimum_viable_product_rollout/)
>
>Remember warning about hurried release to meet Brexit deadline? Never forget
–
>[Mail: The Easter getaway logjam! Motorists face 30-mile tailbacks on M25 while holidaymakers heading to Dover are hit by ‘traffic tsunami’ with the M20 STILL shut and P&O Ferries services suspended as airport chaos continues](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10698727/The-Easter-getaway-nightmare-BA-easyJet-cancel-110-flights-TODAY.html)
>
> * Air passengers at Manchester and Gatwick again face huge queues amid cancellations due to staff shortages
> * Those travelling to Gatwick Airport by rail this weekend face further misery with no Gatwick Express services
> * Southern trains between London Victoria and East Croydon will also be cancelled with buses running instead
> * More traffic chaos in Kent due to Channel crossing delays caused by ongoing suspension of P&O Ferries
> * British Airways cancels 68 planes to locations including Athens and Prague today, while easyJet stops 42
> * Disruption on Great Western Railway and TfL between London Paddington and Slough due to points failure
> * UK’s busiest weekend of travel since pandemic began with families leaving and returning at the same time
>
>(https://archive.ph/RAuUw)
There is a famous novel in French called the ‘La Disparition’ (The Disappearance) whereby someone has written an entire book without the letter ‘e’ appearing. It’s odd to read because you sense that something is amiss and the phrasing can be jarring, but it’s not immediately obvious what’s awry. I get a similar feeling reading BBC articles these days. In this one, as in the one yesterday on the same subject, one reads of Easter holiday traffic, P&O problems, windy weather, a daring but vague nod to IT systems at the bottom of today’s, but, the word ‘Brexit’ is never put on paper.
Here’s [a useful Twitter thread](https://twitter.com/DanielLambert29/status/1512288384630370307?t=VFMG4CZi5O8ngKYgDVevCw&s=19) with more information about the IT issues here – which seem to be the real cause, despite P&O getting the blame.
A new post-Brexit system which, to no-one’s great surprise, has teething problems when rolled out and tested in the real world for the first time. HMRC having to more or less switch the system off and allow lorries through unchecked.