Portsmouth port 'critically important' as it continues freight exports to France while Dover halts travel

It comes as the transport secretary has warned that Dover faces ‘significant disruption’ due to France imposing travel restrictions on passengers and accompanied freight from the UK.

But Portsmouth’s port is continuing to export freight to the continent as it has the ability to separate freight from its lorry, meaning it can carry on its journey unaccompanied.

The service shows how important the council-run port is to the whole UK economy – and points to ‘a critical point of failure’ in being overly reliant on Dover, according to Portsmouth City Council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson.

Cllr Vernon-Jackson said: "A lorry is made up of two parts - a trailer and a cab. We have the ability to put the trailer onboard without the cab, which is something they cannot do in Dover.

"So we are continuing to send lorries across to France, when Dover cannot, which yet again shows how important it is for the UK economy that Portsmouth port is running and successful.

"It's very difficult, but we'll keep on working to ensure that UK firms can keep exporting."

The port can handle up to 500 lorries a day, and Cllr Vernon-Jackson hopes its capacity will be expanded in the future.

He said: "One of the conversations we have had with Grant Shapps has been around the resilience of the UK economy being dependent on just the one crossing with Dover – it is a real critical point of failure. That's why having Portsmouth as a running port is so important.

"We can take more ferries. We can manage more, it's just up to the ferry companies. There's hope of doing more sailings on the Spanish routes, and we’re talking to the companies."