Image source, PA Media

We're pausing our coverage of events in Dover and Folkestone now, but before we go... here's a recap of what's happened:

• A major incident was declared in Kent again, as travellers were stuck in long queues of traffic heading to Dover for a second day
• There were also long delays reported for holidaymakers heading to the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone too
• The AA says those queueing to cross the Channel are still facing three to four hours waits

• Some lorry drivers have been queuing for well over 18 hours on the M20 outside Dover, according to haulier group Logistics UK.
• Liz Truss said disruption at the Port of Dover had been caused by a lack of resources put in place by French authorities at the border

• But Pierre-Henri Dumont, Republican MP for Calais, said the traffic jams at the port were because of Brexit.

Today's live page was brought to you by: Catherine Evans, Marie Jackson, Tanya Gupta, Alex Kleiderman and Chris Giles.

Image source, Reuters

Tory leadership candidate and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss says the disruption at the port of Dover and the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone has been caused by a lack of resources put in place by French authorities at the border.

Speaking during a campaign visit to Kent today, she said: "I'm very clear that we need to see action from them to resolve the terrible situation that people are facing."

She adds that she has been "in touch with the French authorities".

When pressed on whether the situation has been caused by Brexit she insisted a lack of resources was to blame.

Maddy Haxton, a security officer at Heathrow airport, is travelling with a family of seven from Ashford, Middlesex, to Berny-Rivière in France.

They’re in a convoy with three other families. It’s their first holiday since the start of the pandemic and they are all really looking to getting away.

She says: "We’ve been in the area very close to the Eurotunnel for more than six hours.

"We’re on the A20. We can hear the euro trains go past, we’re that close," she adds.

"It’s ridiculous – a nightmare! The seven of us are getting sick of each other. The kids are accepting it though.

"We go to France most years. It normally takes an hour-and-a-half."

Tim Povall is travelling to Budapest with his wife, two sons and their dog.

They've been queuing for nearly seven hours on their way to the Eurotunnel, meaning their planned stopover in Bruges this evening has been disrupted.

"I don't think the severity of the situation is being communicated well enough," says Tim.

"People are all talking about the delays in Dover for the ferry, but I am certain that it's nowhere near as bad as this.

"We are nowhere near passport control. It's really bad."

He says there should have been better organisation at Folkestone to avoid a "free-for-all".

"It's ruined this evening. My two sons are angry and my dog isn't happy. It just doesn't make sense.

"There are lots of pregnant people and people with kids walking around. It's hot, I feel sorry for them."

Travellers heading to the port of Dover and the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone are still facing delays of between three and four hours, according to the AA.

Meanwhile it says the jams felt earlier across the south of England have cleared, although a few isolated pockets of traffic remain.

It adds roads are expected to be much quieter tomorrow, compared to Friday and Saturday.

But the next big challenge facing the south east is clearing the backlog of freight that has been queuing on the M20 outside Dover.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said there has been "steady improvement" throughout the day.

But he said this would be "little comfort" to those still stuck in traffic.

Dan Johnson
Reporting from Dover

We’re told that things are flowing a bit more freely and that they are starting to eat into that backlog that built up yesterday.

There are a lot of cars queuing here at the port at the moment. But in a sense this is the good queue. This is the queue you want to be part of.

The problem is that thousands of people are stuck on the roads miles out from Dover trying to get across Kent to the port.

They’ve been held back by the police operations that have been in place to try to manage the traffic, to try to stop Dover itself getting completely snarled up.

And that does seem to have been a bit more successful today, but drivers are still being warned that they do face big delays.

Simon Oliver, his wife and two teenage sons have been queueing for the Eurotunnel for eight-and-a-half hours (so far).

They drove down to Folkestone from Durham last night and stayed in a hotel, setting off at 615am this morning.

Simon says they've been stop-starting every 20 yards.

They're supposed to be at their cottage in the Loire valley by now. But they’ve booked another night in Calais as they don’t think they’ll get there in time tonight.

Simon says the family are "fine, just tired, and frustrated".

But his eldest son has autism "so his anxiety is fairly bad".

"We’re keeping him happy. We’re doing our best with him. We’re putting on a brave face."

Freight drivers have been reminded they have to follow signs and use the M20.

The Kent Resilience Forum (KRF) has said any hauliers trying to jump the queue not only risk a fine of £300 but will also be sent to the back of the line by police or other enforcers.

In the past 24 hours, over 100 fixed penalty notices have been issued for non-compliance.

Toby Howe, Tactical lead for the KRF, said traffic controls were the "best option for keeping the county moving".

Marion Pettet and her husband David have made it through the channel tunnel after long delays and are now en route to their holiday in France.

She says the lack of information was "bothersome".

"There was no explanation as to what was happening. The information panels were inaccurate, they weren’t giving out the same information as the tannoys."

But she says she is relieved this is happening after the recent heatwave, which saw record temperatures.

"It’s frustrating, it’s annoying. The only thing I can say is at least it wasn’t 40 degrees."

A French MP has claimed the British government rejected a proposal to double the number of passport booths given to the French Police in Dover a few months ago.

Pierre-Henri Dumont, Republican MP for Calais, also said the traffic jams at the port were because of Brexit.

He tweeted, external: "No need to blame French authorities for the traffic jams in Dover that’s an aftermath of Brexit. We have to run more and longer checks."

Dumont also said yesterday the Port of Dover was “too small” and there were too few kiosks due to lack of space.

The chief executive of the Port of Dover, Doug Bannister, has said that in a post-Brexit environment "there will be increased transaction times at the border" but also said the port had created more capacity.

The BBC has asked the Department for Transport for a response.

Jane Dennis, her husband and their five children (ranging from three to 11 years old) told us they left their queue and took a detour after being gridlocked.

In six hours, they had driven only 75 metres.

Jane says they've moved a bit now, after a friend recommended another way.

But they're still a long way off from the camping site in Vendee, with another seven-hour drive once they reach France.

Image source, Getty Images

Holidaymakers have been facing long delays again today - but some predict they could become a regular feature for those heading for a European getaway.

From September, the EU will be introducing even more checks - with biometric testing at the border for non-EU nationals.

So, now we're not in the EU anymore, we'll see facial recognition and fingerprinting becoming the norm.

It's already prompting warnings of more delays.

Delayed holidaymaker Anna Parkinson has finally reached the Eurotunnel terminal.

It has taken her seven hours to travel two miles - with three "fractious" children sat in the back.

"Actually they’ve been very good, we’ve played a few games, they’ve eaten a lot of food, I’m glad we brought copious amounts of snacks and iPads," she laughs.

She's now on her way to her holiday, but says she feels for residents who "currently can’t leave their local villages because they’re hemmed in by all of us desperately trying to get on the train that we should have caught five hours ago".

Image source, PA Media

Natalie Chapman, from haulier group Logistics UK, said some lorry drivers had waited to cross the Channel for “well over 18 hours”.

She said: “Our primary concern is about the welfare of those drivers that are in the queue but also importantly making sure we can get them moving again, get them through the port as quickly as possible.”

She said there were no toilet facilities in the queue and it was understood they couldn’t be deployed for safety reasons.

Chapman said it was hoped there would be welfare support at some point.

“What we’re certainly advising to any drivers who are heading to the port or to Eurotunnel is - please come prepared, bring plenty of food and drink with you, make sure you go to the loo before you leave, and just be prepared for a long wait.”

At least 17,215 passengers had made their way through the Port of Dover by lunchtime today, latest figures show.

On Twitter, spokespeople for the port said they were "working hard with our partners to get all passengers on their way as quickly as possible".

But thousands of cars and lorries remain queuing on roads leading up to the port.

Image source, PA Media

As we've been reporting, measures to smooth the flow of traffic in Kent continue after the major incident was declared.

With thousands of cars and lorries still stuck on roads into Dover, the Operation Brock contraflow is also in place on the M20, say National Highways.

It means a queue of lorries is parked on the motorway.

Image source, PA Media

Under the latest national Highways update:

• M20 coastbound between junctions 8 and 9 open for EU freight only
• Non-EU freight and all other vehicles must leave at junction 8 and follow the diversion route using the A2, M2 and A20. EU freight should stay on the M20 and join the queue.
• M20 London bound between junctions 9 and 8 is open as normal.

Image source, PA Media

When Brexit voters thought they were "taking back control", the French actually took control of their own border, an union representative has told the BBC.

Lucy Moreton, professional officer for the ISU union that represents borders, immigration and customs staff, says the queues are "not upsetting the French particularly".

"This isn’t our border that we’ve taken back control of. In fact, France has taken back control of its border in this respect."

Moreton adds it was a "reasonably predictable" outcome after Britain leaving the EU.

"This is the time that it's chosen to bite," she says.

While Eurotunnel passengers have been complaining they have been caught up in delays reaching the terminal at Folkestone today - the company says its services are operating "smoothly".

John Keefe, director of public affairs for Eurotunnel, told the BBC drivers were experiencing delays on the motorways amid heavy holiday traffic and road restrictions due to the lorries parked on the M20 because of the Dover disruption.

“While it’s slowing things down on traffic down moving through the county, it’s actually bringing... [them] to the terminal in a very orderly fashion,” he says.

But he says increased EU border checks since Brexit have resulted in longer journey times for its passengers.

Travellers using the Channel Tunnel shuttle service are now being asked to arrive at the terminal in Folkestone about two hours before departure.

“This infrastructure was created for borderless travel. So when the Channel Tunnel was built [there were] no requirements for passport controls, no requirements for customs controls on goods moving backwards and forwards between the UK and France, and that’s different now." he says.

If you're a parent, you probably know how challenging long car trips with a young child can be.

Dave Harvey and his family have been stuck in their car since leaving home early this morning on their way to the Eurostar terminal at Folkestone.

"We’re moving now though... [we've] been queuing for probably three hours now to get through," he says.

He adds, "[It's a] bit of a joke really. The M20's closed. I don’t know why it’s closed to be quite frank with you."

So how does he feel at the start of his family summer holiday?

"Frustrated. Especially with the young one. Sad and frustrated."

Dan Johnson
BBC News

We’re told the backlog is starting to clear but that it will take some time to get everyone where they need to be.

Traffic is moving through Dover itself, into the port and onto ferries. Local streets are moving more freely than yesterday.

But there are still thousands of cars and lorries held on roads into Dover.

Motorists are being warned to carry water and food - it’s a warm day on the roads of Kent. They’ve been told if they miss their ferry they’ll be put on the first one available.

10,000 cars are expected to pass through the port today, on top of the 8,500 yesterday.

It’s the busiest weekend of the year and because of the pandemic Dover hasn’t seen anything like this since 2019. Local people are saying they’ve never seen it this bad.

Brexit also means passport checks have changed and now take longer but drivers are asking why there aren’t more staff and resources in place to handle the heavy demand.