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The government is facing renewed calls to recall parliament after the publication of a report setting out the risks of a no-deal Brexit.
The report was published yesterday in response to a demand from MPs for it to be made public.
Kent opposition MPs demand parliament is reopened
Codenamed Operation Yellowhammer, it details the challenges facing the authorities if the UK left the EU without a formal deal.
It makes a series of warnings concerning delays and disruption, fuel shortages, public disorder and medicine shortages, as well as the possible growth in a black market economy that could be exploited by criminal gangs.
On the possible consequences for Kent, it warned of long delays on the road network as many hauliers remained unprepared for dealing with new customs arrangements.
“The lack of trader readiness combined with limited space in French ports to hold ‘unready’ HGVs could reduce the flow rate to 40%-60% of current levels within one day as unready HGVs will fill the ports and block flow,” it warns.
This situation could last for up to three months, and disruption might last "significantly longer", with lorries facing waits of between 1.5 days and 2.5 days to cross the border.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the publication of the report was a further reason why parliament needed to be recalled.
And the shadow foreign secretary Keir Starmer said the report should be discussed by MPs.
Sir Keir said recalling parliament would allow MPs "the opportunity to scrutinise these documents and take all steps necessary to stop no-deal".
He added the Yellowhammer document confirmed there are "severe risks" if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
But Nigel Farage, the leader of the Brexit party and a south east MEP, dismissed the report, saying “I’ve never seen such utter tosh in my entire life.”
The document was “Project Fear Mark 2” and should be "totally disregarded", he said.
Meanwhile the leader of Kent County Council Paul Carter expressed his confidence that measures were in place to deal with the possible consequences of a no-deal.
He said that “real progress” had been made in the last six or seven weeks to prepare for the worst case scenario.
But he said the government needed to ensure there were plans in place to allow police and Highways England to call on support from other areas to help marshall traffic in the event of delays and disruption.
And he repeated his concern that the government was continuing to press ahead with setting up five customs clearance points in the county to check lorries, saying that they should be located outside Kent.
KentOnline revealed yesterday that there are also plans for checkpoints to be be put in place along the M20 between junctions 8 and 9 to ensure lorries do not try to bypass Operation Brock and had come into the county via the M26.
MPs forced the government to release the file before parliament was suspended - or prorogued - on Tuesday.
But the cabinet minister Michael Gove has refuse to release details of private correspondence between officials and ministers on Yellowhammer, saying it would "contravene the law" and "offend against basic principles of fairness".
