Holidaymakers and ministers are in denial about what Brexit means at our borders, a Times columnist has said.
Queues were building again at the Port of Dover at the start of this week amid fears that the severe disruption seen in recent days could return to Kent throughout the summer.
Passengers were forced to wait for several hours on Friday as bumper-to-bumper traffic stretching for miles marred the journeys of tens of thousands of families at the start of the school summer holidays.
Lorries have also been severely impacted by the delays, with some being forced to wait up to 18 hours to make the crossing into France.
Writing in the Times, Hugo Rifkind described the port chaos as the “price of choosing to be different.”
“Once upon a time, remember, we had frictionless access to France, and freedom of movement into the entire European Union. Then we voted to get rid of that, and here we are. Friction. Unfreedom. Well done us.”
He added that a “new reality stares us in the face, and we just can’t accept it”.
It echoes the thoughts of French transport minister Clément Beaune, who tweeted on Saturday afternoon: “Mais la France n’est pas responsable du Brexit”.
Translated, that is: “France is not responsible for Brexit”.
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