Boris Johnson chairs Cobra amid growing concerns over mutant coronavirus

Police and port staff at the Port of Dover in Kent which has been closed after the French government’s announcement it will not accept any passengers arriving from the UK for the next 48 hours amid fears over the new mutant coronavirus strain (Steve Parsons/PA)

Crisis talks are being held to prevent the UK being cut off from the continent over fears about the spread of the new coronavirus variant.

French transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebarri said he hoped a protocol would be agreed by European Union states “to ensure that movement from the UK can resume” after his country banned passengers and freight crossing the English Channel.