Tunnel reopens after fires set by strikers

The Channel Tunnel reopened yesterday after a three-hour shut down caused by striking ferry workers who lit fires on the tracks.

In a day when a mix of striking ferry workers and desperate migrants caused transport chaos to travellers on both sides of the Channel, P&O Ferries chief executive Helen Deeble hit out with fierce criticism toward the British and French governments, as well as Eurotunnel.

In a statement she said: “And when is the British government going to stand up to ensure that we can all get to mainland Europe safely and securely? Every day that the disruption lasts costs UK Plc millions of pounds.”

She said P&O Ferries employs thousands of people on both sides of the Channel and “this damaging and dangerous industrial action is now putting those jobs at risk”.

She also blamed Eurotunnel for putting passengers in the middle of an industrial relations battle by not securing the jobs of workers involved.