Brexit LIVE: EU tourists will soon have to apply for ‘permission’ to enter the UK

LIZ TRUSS has demanded France acts over “entirely avoidable” delays at the border as holidaymakers and lorry drivers face another day of gridlocked roads around the Port of Dover.

Traffic crawled towards the port on Friday – one of the busiest periods for foreign travel from the UK as most schools in England and Wales broke up for summer.

The Foreign Secretary said the delays and queues were “unacceptable”, blaming a lack of staffing by the French at the border. But a French politician blamed Brexit for the chaos.

Pierre-Henri Dumont, Republican MP for Calais, said the problems at the Kent port would reoccur, telling BBC News: “This is an aftermath of Brexit. We have to run more checks than before.”

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

A “critical incident” was declared by the port due to the queues, with tourists urged to consider staying away, and warnings today could be just as bad.

In a statement, Tory leadership hopeful Ms Truss said: “This awful situation should have been entirely avoidable and is unacceptable.

“We need action from France to build up capacity at the border to limit any further disruption for British tourists and to ensure this appalling situation is avoided in future.

“We will be working with the French authorities to find a solution.”