Brexit: Police to stop lorries without permits entering Kent in new 'internal border'

Police will patrol the Kent border to turn away lorries without an “access permit” in a bid to ease Brexit border chaos, it has been revealed.

Michael Gove said officers will use automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras and “other means” to block drivers – in what will be seen as an “internal border” in the UK.

The move would try to ensure “constituents are not inconvenienced”, he told MPs – after warning of 7,000-long lorry queues and two-day delays to cross the Channel.

Under questioning, Mr Gove twice refused to reveal how many of his promised 50,000 ‘customs agents’ – to help businesses prepare for a mountain of new red tape – have been recruited.

And he declined to say whether a new IT system will be “operational in January”, with just 100 days until the end of the transition period.