Whitehall is braced for a fresh wave of border chaos. Sources tell me the Joint Intelligence Committee has circulated a stark assessment: the EU's new Entry/Exit System (EES) will trigger severe delays at UK ports this summer. Think hour-long queues. Missed ferries. Stranded families.
This is not a drill. The JIC paper, seen by my contacts, warns of 'significant disruption' from June onwards. The system, requiring non-EU travellers to register biometrics, is a ticking timebomb for Dover and the Channel Tunnel. Eurosceptics will crow: 'I told you so.' But this is not about Brexit. It is about a tech rollout gone wrong.
Downing Street is rattled. A senior No.10 source tells me they are 'exploring mitigations.' But what can they do? The EES is an EU regulation. London has no seat at the table. The French have their own priorities. They want security. We want smooth travel. The two are clashing.
This is a gift for the opposition. Labour is already sharpening its attack lines. 'The government is asleep at the wheel,' a shadow home office team member whispered to me. The Conservatives, meanwhile, are briefing furiously. They blame Brussels. They blame the French. They blame anyone but themselves.
But here is the rub: the polling. My mole in the Conservative campaign headquarters admits the summer chaos could be a 'disaster.' Swing voters in key marginals will be the ones queuing. They will remember at the ballot box.
The Home Office insists it is 'working closely with French counterparts.' Translation: they are pleading. The French are listening but not promising. A French diplomat told me: 'We have our own rules. The British knew this when they left.'
So what happens next? Expect a frantic few weeks. Emergency meetings. Crisis talks. Maybe a U-turn on some checks. But the fundamental problem remains. The EES is coming. The queues are coming. And the government is running out of road.
Watch this space. The game is only just beginning.
