Skip to playerSkip to main contentSkip to footer
  • 08/09/2023
Following severe delays, all Le Shuttle services have started running again. The incident is not being linked to the on-going search for escaped prisoner Daniel Khalife.
Transcript
00:00 First tonight, explosive experts and the British Army have been called to the Eurotunnel terminal
00:05 today following reports of a suspicious vehicle. All the shuttle services have started running
00:11 again in the past hour but there are still severe delays. The incident is not being linked
00:17 to the ongoing search for escaped prisoner Daniel Khalif. Gabriel Morris joins me live
00:22 now in Folkestone. Gabriel, what more do we know this evening?
00:26 Well, Abbie, it's been another day of delays, particularly on the M20 with BROC Zero in
00:33 force and the incident earlier today at the Eurotunnel. However, I have to say things
00:39 are looking up. You can see the traffic is starting to clear in the last hour or so.
00:44 Services have resumed on the shuttle services. But this incident all happened at 10.30am
00:51 this morning. A suspicious vehicle was stopped at the Channel Tunnel terminal here in Folkestone.
00:57 Explosive experts and the British Army attended the scene and a cordon was in place. A fire
01:02 examination was carried out and a remote bomb vehicle was brought into the scene to deal
01:09 with that car in question. Now, the cordon has now been lifted this evening and a man
01:15 who was detained in connection with the incident has been interviewed and released pending
01:20 further inquiries. So the incident might now be cleared, but there are still some delays.
01:27 There are passengers trying to get onto the Eurotunnel services this evening. And I was
01:33 here about two hours ago when the chaos was taking place. And I saw many tourists and
01:40 commuters using the Eurotunnel services, climbing up into a shelter up in the trees and the
01:47 wooded areas, particularly if they had dogs as well. I also witnessed some passengers
01:53 making their way, walking towards the Eurotunnel terminal to get some refreshments and drinks,
01:58 bringing them back to the cars. So it is good news for them. We've been speaking to Jim
02:05 Martin who is the Green Party leader and also the leader at Folkestone and Hive District
02:11 Council. He says it hasn't been an ideal day for passengers, but this incident search was
02:18 needed. When the security forces think they've found a bomb, they have to take action. And
02:26 that action has to be very prompt and it has to be very thorough. And, you know, I can
02:32 tell you from working closely with these people, they are prompt, they are thorough, they are
02:39 completely professional and they would not have closed the Eurotunnel depot on a whim.
02:46 So you know, it is a problem. It's a problem for everyone, for residents, visitors, travellers,
02:54 everyone trying to get home tonight from Folkestone has got a problem.
02:58 Well, the incident might now be clearing here at the Channel Tunnel entrance. And police
03:06 are keen to say this is not believed to be in relation to the ongoing manhunt for Daniel
03:12 Khalif. Now, there are increased checks taking place here at the Eurotunnel terminal. They
03:17 are searching everybody's boots, but also at the port of Dover, where they say it is
03:22 manageable and there are enhanced checks taking place. Now, because of those enhanced checks,
03:27 they have brought in Brock Zero. That was brought in around yesterday lunchtime and
03:31 it remains in force today. That's in place between junctions 8 and 9, so from Leeds Castle
03:36 down to Ashford. Now, unlike Operation Brock, it only allows freight traffic heading to
03:43 the EU to travel coastbound. Any other cars, passengers, regardless of heading to the port
03:48 or not, have to take a diversion. Now, when I made my way down here to come down to the
03:54 Eurotunnel today, I was coming down from Medway. I had to take the diversion, essentially going
03:58 down the M2, down the A2, and I have to say, those routes were more congested than usual.
04:03 And particularly, there was a lot of traffic going through some of the smaller villages
04:09 in the rural parts of Kent, quite likely due to those diversions. Now, it's not clear when
04:16 Brock Zero will be lifted. It seems that it will be going in to tomorrow night. Now, the
04:23 National Highway said they have been working alongside with Kent Police, the Met Police
04:27 and the Kent Resilience Forum, to help ease traffic and stack the lorries heading to the
04:34 port. Now, in the manhunt for Daniel Califf, he has escaped prisoner from Wandsworth Prison.
04:39 He is still missing. We're going in to our third evening now of him being missing. In
04:44 the past hour, Met Police say there will be a £20,000 reward if he is found.
04:49 I'm not going to.

Recommended