There are about 170 lorries queuing on the M20 in Kent as the French closed the border with the UK, the transport secretary Grant Shapps says.

He said Manston would be open as a lorry park, but will not be for large numbers of trucks, but for "management purposes".

Earlier in the day Kent Police said about 500 lorries had been waiting on the M20 as Operation Stack was implemented.

"The vast majority of food, medicine and other supplies" is still crossing the Channel, Boris Johnson said.

The prime minister said "we are working to a solution" with the French to ensure lorries can travel in both ways in a Covid-secure way.

Boris Johnson tells a press conference that delays at Dover only affect "human-handled freight" - about 20% of the total going to continental Europe. The government has been preparing "for a long time" for such a situation, he adds.

The number of lorries waiting on the M20 has dropped from 500 to 170, the PM says.

Image source, PA Media

Dover MP Natalie Elphicke has criticised the French government's decision to close the border with the UK as "unnecessary, unhelpful and irresponsible".

"It has caused serious traffic congestion at a time when traffic flows were already high."

"A simple conversation about virus management would have been the right way forward," she insisted.

About 10,000 lorries a day travel between Dover and Calais during peak periods such as Christmas.

But the decision by France to close its borders From 2300 GMT on Sunday means no accompanied freight can leave the area,leading to long queues on the main routes to Dover.

Tory MP Elphicke urged President Emmanuel Macron's government to reopen the border.

"The longer that this goes on, the longer it will take to unwind, meaning that there could be queues past Christmas unless the French reopen the border soon," said Ms Elphicke.

The Department for Transport is continuing to urge hauliers to avoid cross-Channel ports in Kent after the French closed its border with the UK for 48 hours.

Drivers have been warned to expect "significant disruption" around the county's ports in the meantime, with Operation Stack being implemented on the M20.

Passenger ferries and lorry freight bound for France have been suspended from Dover, Portsmouth and Newhaven.

Unaccompanied frieght is still be allowed to make the crossing. Grant Shapps, the transport secretary said.

The M20 is closed coastbound between junction eight for Hollingbourne, and junction 10 for Folkestone.

The government has practised for disruption at the borders, but not on the scale now potentially unfolding.

Image source, Reuters

Here's a rundown of some of the key points after France closed its borders to the UK for 48 hours

* Operation Stack has been activated on the coast-bound M20 in Kent.

* Passenger ferries and lorry freight bound for France have been suspended from Dover, Portsmouth and Newhaven.

* Manston Airport is being prepared to take up to 4,000 lorries.

Read more here

Lauren Moss
Political Editor, BBC South East

Hauliers being held in queuing traffic due to Operation Stack are being offered care packages.

Eurotunnel and the Kent Resilience Forum will be distributing the packages to give drivers some relief while in gridlock.

It comes as lorry drivers were urged not to travel to ports in Kent after France closed its border with the UK for 48 hours.

Simon Jones
Reporter, BBC South East Today

Hundreds of lorries are queued outside Dover due to the closure of the French border with the UK.

With drivers stuck in their cabs, some have begun to vent their frustration.

About 500 lorries are queuing outside Dover, Kent Police said, as France closes its borders with the UK for 48 hours.

Kent County Council's highways manager said it was expected the concrete barriers, used on the M20 during Operation Brock, would be put in place this afternoon.

The barriers allow lorries to be parked on the motorway on one carriageway, while the other becomes a contraflow, allowing traffic to flow in both directions on the motorway.

Freight which is unaccompanied is still allowed to cross the Channel to France.

The Faversham and Mid Kent MP, Helen Whately, says the county is "well prepared" for disruption in the county as Operation Stack is put in place.

Lauren Moss
Political Editor, BBC South East

Operation Brock, the movable concrete barrier on the London bound side of the M20 between J8 & 9 to enable traffic to move in a contraflow system, could now be activated overnight, it has emerged.

Freight traffic currently held by Operation Stack would be moved between junction 10 and junction 11.

This is likely to mean the M20 will be closed for several hours to allow Operation Brock to be put in place

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to hold a press conference at Downing Street later to provide updates on the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

It comes as a growing list of countries have banned arrivals from the UK because of concerns at the spread of a new variant of coronavirus.

Grant Shapps told BBC Breakfast that the border closure from France will not have an impact on goods.

BBC Radio 5 Live

The decision by France to close its border with the UK seemed an "odd" decision, said Richard Burnett, head of the Road Haulage Association, given freight had been flowing throughout the pandemic.

"Right the way through the pandemic we've had this principle where all the borders have remained open to critical freight, to ensure that food and medical supplies continue to move," he told BBC Radio 5 Live's Wake Up to Money programme.

"We've had to manage different strains and different issues... We've worked very hard over the last nine months to ensure that the borders have been kept open, to keep that flow of products going.

"I understand that we want to try to contain the spread, but I think we've done that in a very practical way as a logistics industry, across Europe, throughout this year.

"It's going to be a pretty frustrating, miserable existence for the next 48 hours," he said.

Image source, Highways Agency

The MP for Folkestone and Hythe, Damian Collins, says he has been discussing with transport ministers a proposal to install the movable barriers on the M20 a week earlier than planned.

The barrier allows traffic to flow both ways on the motorway, using a contraflow, while lorries are being parked up due to congestion at the Channel ports.

They had been due to be put in place in time for the conclusion of the Brexit transition period at the end of the year.

Mr Collins said lorries will also be parked at Manston while disruption at the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone continues.

Image source, Getty Images

Eurotunnel says having a testing regime in place is key to opening up the Channel ports to passengers and freight wanting to cross from the UK to France.

John Keefe, Eurotunnel's spokesman, told BBC Radio Kent all travel from the UK to France had been suspended but Eurotunnel was still open for travel and goods coming in the other direction.

"Everyone who wanted to travel yesterday got away. We put on a couple of extra departures. About 50 trucks didn't make the deadline and are now in Operation Stack."

Mr Keefe said: "People have got to avoid travelling, but we want to be ready to restart as soon as we can.

"A lot of the conversation that's going on is about how we can open up the border again and that's mostly about testing.

"It all depends on how quickly we can get the testing regime in place and how quickly we can get trucks moving again."

Mr Keefe said: "We were expecting things to calm down after the [Brexit] transition ended. We have been carrying huge numbers of freight over the last six to eight weeks.

"A huge amount of stockpiling has gone on."

Lorry drivers are being urged not to travel to ports in Kent after France closed its border with the UK for 48 hours.

Operation Stack has been put in place on the coast-bound M20 in an attempt to ease congestion in the county.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps said goods were still moving.

"Most of freight is not accompanied and that can still flow of course," he said.

Image source, Getty Images

UK supermarket Sainsbury's has warned that some products could be missing from shelves due to restrictions at ports.

A spokesperson said: "We are also sourcing everything we can from the UK and looking into alternative transport for product sourced from Europe.

"If nothing changes, we will start to see gaps over the coming days on lettuce, some salad leaves, cauliflowers, broccoli and citrus fruit - all of which are imported from the continent at this time of year."

They called on the UK and French governments to come to "a mutually agreeable solution that prioritises the immediate passage of produce and any other food at the ports".

However, they added that food for a traditional Christmas dinner was available and already in the country.

Sussex Resilience Forum says sailings from Newhaven Port for accompanied freight and tourist traffic have been suspended for 48 hours to comply with the temporary French ban on people travelling from the UK.

"Hauliers booked on these services have been contacted and told not to set out. Sailings continue for unaccompanied freight trailers," a spokesman said.

"The port of Newhaven has not reported any congestion at its site and traffic on roads in Sussex was at normal levels this morning."

Simon Jones
Reporter, BBC South East Today

Here at the entrance to the port, a big sign warns drivers - the French border is closed.

But the message hasn't got through to everyone. A steady stream of lorries and cars have been arriving, only to be promptly turned away.

The Port and Eurotunnel shut to traffic heading to France at around 23:00 GMT last night - in what is being described as an unprecedented situation.

One haulier who was stuck in a queue and failed to get on a ferry on time told me he turned around and went home.

But that option simply isn't available to foreign drivers. They are facing at least two days stuck in their cabs.

Part of the M20 motorway has been turned into a giant lorry park, as the government pleads with hauliers not to head to Kent.

It's set to be a challenging few day on this side of the Channel.