Bosses at the Port of Dover have called on the government to help it access Covid-19 tests for its key workers.

The Prime Minister last week announced that vital sectors of the economy would be provided with 100,000 daily lateral flow tests to prevent the spread of the virus and knock-on staff shortages.

But Doug Bannister, chief executive at Dover Harbour Board, says his organisation is still struggling to gain full access to the tests it requires despite applying for the new scheme.

"The government has made lateral flow capacity available to some key areas. They haven't stepped as deeply into our operations as we'd like them to," Mr Bannister told the BBC.

He stressed the importance of the workers at the port for their role in keeping the flow of goods and people moving during the pandemic.

"One of the things that would be really handy is for these key workers to be recognised, particularly when we start thinking about lateral flow testing and those sorts of activities," he said.

The Dover TAP, which manages the flow of goods traffic reaching the Port of Dover via the A20, was in place until 6.25am today after it was brought in yesterday to help deal with the large volume of traffic.

With the Omicron variant continuing to spread rapidly across the UK there are ongoing concerns that workplaces will struggle to operate if large numbers of staff contract the highly-contagious variant of the virus.

Sectors and employees identified on the GOV.UK website as being essential include the postal service, oil, gas, water and electricity companies, police, fire and armed forces personnel, prison staff, nursery employees and social workers, religious staff and charities delivering frontline services, workers involved in food production and delivery, and those working in the the justice system.

Tests being allocated to the 100,000 key works will be separate from those allocated to other sectors, such as secondary schools and adult social care settings.

Around 600,000 packs of rapid lateral flow tests, each containing seven tests, are currently being delivered to homes every day.