Customs IT meltdown adds to long delays at Port of Dover

Chaos as outage of key HMRC system combines with P&O Ferries problems and surge in tourist traffic

UK customs officials are battling to resolve an outage at a key post-Brexit IT system, with drivers complaining that the malfunction is adding to long delays for freight traffic trying to cross the Channel.

A surge in Easter tourist traffic and reduced sailings from Dover, where several P&O ferries are still out of commission following the mass sacking of crew members, are combining with delays at customs to create havoc on the roads into the port, with parts of the coast-bound M20 motorway in Kent turned into a temporary lorry park as HGVs wait to reach France.