Keir Starmer to warn of 'major disruption' risk ahead of new UK-EU border checks

Keir Starmer's new government is planning to warn of the risk of "major disruption" at Dover for an extended period from October this year when the European Union (EU) puts in place a new Entry/Exit system (EES) on its borders.

ITV News understands that ministers will announce measures to try to blunt the impact of the changes, which could cause longer queues for Eurostar and Eurotunnel services and airports, as early as next week.

The EES is a new IT system designed to track travellers from third countries, including the UK, when they enter and leave EU countries.

The system will require tourists and other travellers to provide biometric data, including fingerprints and photographs, in advance of travel.

It will also monitor the time spent inside the EU to better enforce the post Brexit rules that limit the time allowed to 90 days in an 180 day period.

There are concerns about the immediate effect of the changes, particularly at peak times, like half term, or other holidays.

There have been warnings that while this is supposed to speed things up in the longer term, that it could take 10 minutes per car to start with as everyone will need to register for their first journey.

Passengers on Eurostar would need to come earlier the first time they use the new system to register fingerprints, although they should then remain stored in the EU system.

And so I expect the Home Office to take steps next week to try to limit the consequences.

A source told ITV News: "The preparations for this change that we have inherited from the last government have been totally insufficient.

"But we are doing everything possible to mitigate the disruption that will result.

"As in so many other areas, we have been left to deal with mess left by the Tories."

Professor Anand Menon, from UK in a Changing Europe, told ITV News that one issue was the number of people unaware that they can register in advance, arguing that tourists turning up without that information will inevitably slow down the speed at which the crossings are made.

He argued there was not much Britain could do given the new system was the choice of the EU and would be coming into place later this year.

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