An MP, has warned the government to step up digital border preparations to avoid traffic chaos.

Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover, says Britain needs to prepare for the EU's new Entry-Exit System (EES), which is due to go live next year, or risk travel chaos and damage to the economy.

She told MPs in Parliament: "With the clock ticking, it is now urgent that the government sharpen their focus on implementing the new digital borders system seamlessly.

"Otherwise, they risk big delays at the port, travel chaos in Kent and real damage to the British economy."

She said that the port of Dover is the most successful of its kind in the UK with more than £144 billion of freight transported going through it each year.

It accounts for a third of all UK trade with the EU, supporting thousands of local jobs in Dover and Deal and hundreds of thousands of jobs across the UK.

Mrs Elphicke said Brexit turned out to be a success, and the port is still thriving after it.

She explained: “The Port of Dover is a national asset that has a huge role to play in post- Brexit global Britain. That success has been built on trade running smoothly. That success has continued post-Brexit.”

“We need to also see that continue with necessary decisions and investment, including upgrading the A2 and planning for the EU's new digital borders system when it becomes operational next year.”

The Home Office Borders Minister, Kevin Foster, confirmed to Mrs Elphicke that there was a risk of the delays she feared.

But he committed to working with the French to minimise this, including looking at new approaches to border management.

The minister said: “We recognise the port of Dover’s role as a key entry and exit point to and from the UK for a wide variety of time-sensitive goods, as well as passengers."

He said that before the pandemic, in 2019, it handled 1.2 million lorries - more than all other ports serving mainland EU routes combined. It is also the UK’s largest international sea passenger port, handling nearly 11 million passengers in 2019.

Mr Foster told MPs: "We are therefore fully committed to protecting this vital link, and that will be a key priority in our approach to assisting our partners in an effective implementation of the EES.”

He added: "As the UK’s busiest roll-on-roll-off port, Dover is a recognised pressure point at the frontier and maintaining flow is a priority for UK customs planning, without compromising border security."

The UK's departure from the European Union eventually happened after the British public narrowly voted (51.9% against 48.1%) to leave in a referendum in June 2016.

The formal leaving date was January 31, 2020 and was followed by a transition period that lasted until that New Year's Eve.

Despite fears of lorry gridlock at Dover afterwards, because of the resulting bureaucracy, traffic continued to flow normally.