Military veterans' group to look after drivers stuck in UK queues for Channel

A disaster response charity established by a former British military chief has been enlisted to help drivers stuck in lorry queues in Kent.

The Government has reportedly signed a £200,000-a-year contract with RE:ACT, which provides "direct humanitarian action when it's most needed, serving the vulnerable and supporting frontline services", according to its website.

The charity, which primarily uses military veterans to distribute humanitarian aid in war zones and following natural disasters, has been called in amid concerns over driver welfare as they are stuck in gridlocks as they wait to cross the Channel.

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The charity won this contract through its trading arm, RE:SILIENT Response, which was set up in 2015 by General Sir Nick Parker, former Commander of British Land Forces.

RE:ACT's regional lead for the south east Jon White has confirmed that "RE:SILIENT Response Ltd has agreed to support Kent County Council".

Mr White added that they will "provide driver welfare for those stuck in the queues – often for many hours – resulting from disruption to the road network leading to the Channel Tunnel and the Port of Dover".

"The year-long contract began on November 25 and will initially run for 12 months. We applaud Kent County Council for this proactive approach to helping solve this complex problem," he added.

The Department for Transport (Dft) enlisted RE:ACT, and said a welfare plan – for unscheduled waits of longer than 48 hours – was needed because of "regular disruptions" to the road network in the area during previous national events which had severely overstretched local responses.

According to its website, the team is described as being mostly military veterans who "possess the compassion, grit, resilience and unshakeable determination to save lives and alleviate suffering in the worst situations".

Mr White added: "All profits from RE:SILIENT's work go towards funding our charity, RE:ACT, which is currently responding to emergencies both at home and abroad and, in particular, in Ukraine, where we are delivering daily hot meals to thousands of displaced people."