Source: www.aol.com - Sunday, December 30, 2018
Questions are being asked about the Government’s preparations for a no-deal Brexit after it emerged a £13.8 million contract to run extra ferries has been handed to a company with no ships and which has not previously operated a service. Seaborne Freight was one of three companies awarded contracts totalling £108 million last week to lay on additional crossings to ease the pressure on Dover when Britain pulls out of the EU. The company aims to operate freight ferries from Ramsgate to the Belgian port of Ostend, beginning with two ships in late March and increasing to four by the end of the summer. But a Conservative county councillor for the Kent port town said he did not believe it would be possible to set up a new service from Ramsgate by the scheduled date of Brexit on March 29. And Cllr Paul Messenger questioned whether the Government had carried out sufficient checks on the firm, telling the BBC: “It has no ships and no trading history so how can due diligence be done? “Why choose a company that never moved a single truck in their entire history and give them £14 million? I don’t understand the logic of that.” Transport Secretary Chris Grayling came under attack over the decision. Remain-backing Labour MP Neil Coyle said: “Nothing could sum Brexit up better than the utter stench of this latest Grayling mess. Reeks.” Nothing could sum Brexit up better than the utter stench of this latest Grayling mess. Reeks. https://t.co/ZJ
Source: Breaking News
Questions are being asked about the Government’s preparations for a no-deal Brexit after it emerged a £13.8 million contract to run extra ferries has been handed to a company with no ships and which has not previously operated a service. Seaborne Freight was one of three companies awarded contracts totalling £108 million last week to lay on additional crossings to ease the pressure on Dover when Britain pulls out of the EU. The company aims to operate freight ferries from Ramsgate to the Belgian port of Ostend, beginning with two ships in late March and increasing to four by the end of the summer. But a Conservative county councillor for the Kent port town said he did not believe it would be possible to set up a new service from Ramsgate by the scheduled date of Brexit on March 29. And Cllr Paul Messenger questioned whether the Government had carried out sufficient checks on the firm, telling the BBC: “It has no ships and no trading history so how can due diligence be done? “Why choose a company that never moved a single truck in their entire history and give them £14 million? I don’t understand the logic of that.” Transport Secretary Chris Grayling came under attack over the decision. Remain-backing Labour MP Neil Coyle said: “Nothing could sum Brexit up better than the utter stench of this latest Grayling mess. Reeks.” Nothing could sum Brexit up better than the utter stench of this latest Grayling mess. Reeks. https://t.co/ZJ
Source: Breaking News
Comments
Post a Comment