Lorries queue on the M20

by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Trucks with full fuel tanks should be barred from using ferries or the Channel Tunnel because they pose a terrorist threat and damage Kent's haulage industry, an MP has warned.

Gordon Henderson, MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, has stepped up his campaign to protect

Kent hauliers from "unfair" competition from foreign operators that fill up with cheaper fuel on the Continent, come to Britain and go back without paying a penny in UK duty.

He says that unless something is done soon, local hauliers will be forced out of business.

Last week in the House of Commons, he asked Transport minister Mike Penning what steps were being taken to stop foreign firms undercutting British hauliers.

Mr Penning replied: "We have a commitment to bringing in lorry road user charging to level the playing field.

"It is important, however, that we do not penalise our own truckers with whatever scheme we bring in.

"We are in ongoing negotiations with the Treasury and we are committed to introducing a scheme in this Parliament."

But this week, Mr Henderson called for more urgent action. A quick solution would be a ban on trucks crossing the Channel with full fuel tanks.

They posed serious safety and security risks because "a ferry laden with trucks carrying full tanks of fuel is a golden target for any terrorist group".

Lorries should only be allowed to have sufficient fuel to take them five or 10 miles to a petrol station.

He accepted there might be opposition, but added: "Frankly, I don't care which way they [the government] go as long as they do something. My message is: 'Get cracking now'.

"If we wait too much longer, we're not going to have a British haulage industry - or a haulage industry in Sittingbourne or Sheppey which is my priority."