RHA launches on-line petition to end Operation Stack
The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has launched an on-line petition which calls for the UK government to end Operation Stack and “restore law and order in Calais”. Operation Stack is the traffic management system that the UK government has put in place to cope with the disruption to Channel Tunnel and ferry services caused by migrants attempting to enter the UK illegally. Thousands of heavy good vehicles (HGVs) are taking out of the system and parked (or “stacked”) on M20 motorway.
In a statement issued today (31 July), RHA Chief Executive Richard Burnett said: “I am calling for everybody in the country to sign the on-line petition at www.rhaactnow.uk.net as every name added makes our campaign stronger.”
The RHA claimed that the effects of the current crisis at the Port of Calais are having an “intolerable” effect on the UK and its haulage industry.
“For those who have no alternative but to travel through Calais, the threat of violence and harassment from migrants, intent on reaching the UK, is unacceptable,” said the RHA.
The RHA continued: “On this side of the Channel, Operation Stack has seen in excess of 5,000 vehicles parked up, simply waiting to cross to France. The cost to the haulage industry alone is massive and the corresponding problems caused to the people of Kent have become untenable.
“Businesses are suffering and the county has already become gridlocked from traffic that has been diverted from the M20.
“Lives are at risk as healthcare workers are unable to visit the sick and many retailers are facing unsustainable losses as a result of failed or late deliveries or stock shortages.”
