James O'Brien destroys government's 'crisis of intelligence' over Brexit
25 July 2022, 11:27
James O'Brien's rip-roaring breakdown of govt's 'failure of understanding' of Brexit
Following a weekend of utter chaos at the Channel crossing, James O'Brien reminds listeners how the Tories insisted Brexit would not bring about these very issues.
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James O'Brien was reflecting on news coming from Dover and Folkestone over the weekend where Brits faced horrific waiting times to get through border control and into France.
Holidaymakers have faced queues upwards of 20 hours at Folkestone as border control at the Channel all but ground to a halt. Keeping in mind the assurances of government ministers during the Brexit campaign and its aftermath, James had a look at how the government have spoken about potential delays at the border.
Read more: Channel travel chaos down to French 'fury' over Brexit and Boris, says Jeremy Hunt
He first played a clip of Jacob Rees-Mogg declaring that any delays due to Brexit would be seen at Calais, not at Dover.
"How can this man end up in the Cabinet having displayed publicly a gross failure to understand anything?"
James then played listeners Priti Patels declaration that she planned to end the free movement of people "once and for all" as Home Secretary.
Read more: Liz Truss calls for 'more action' from France as families face 11-hour queues in Dover
Read more: 'Only the start': Holiday hell at Folkestone amid warnings of more summer gridlock
James O'Brien on refusal to acknowledge Brexit is at fault for Dover chaos
"What did you think she meant when she said end the free movement of people once and for all?!"
Read more: Rachel Johnson blames post-Brexit checks for Kent travel chaos
Former Transport Secretary Chris Grayling's declaration that there'd be no checks in Dover to cross the Channel was the next statement James reminded listeners of.
"It's a crisis of intelligence and understanding, this", he said, declaring that these MPs are "just so stupid. They're just so thick."
"How could they have understood it so little? How could they have misunderstood it so completely?"
Read more: Dover port boss blames Brexit for delays as he explains passport 'checks and stamps'
On Sunday the coastal town of Folkestone became the epicentre of getaway chaos that started at the end of the week when most schools in England and Wales broke up for summer.
It took the unwanted title from Dover, where traffic levels returned to normal on Sunday after two days of hours-long queues and congestion.
Kent Police said they had fined over 100 HGV drivers over the last 48 hours for attempting to jump the queue.
"We are in an absolute nightmare now" James declared, stressing that the nightmare is "not about the traffic jams in Kent".
He concluded by telling listeners that the issue is the "utter failure to understand anything from the people who largely remain in charge."
