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Britain's freight transport network faces blockages and congestion if the government fails to provide a coherent long-term strategy for the nation's ports, MPs have warned.

Members of the transport select committee, publishing their first investigation into the state of Britain's ports for three years, outline a number of ways in which ports, which provide 95 per cent of imports by volume, need government management.

These include defining more clearly when the government should intervene in the market development of the nation's ports, making sure that port concentration in the greater south-east region does not develop too heavily and guarding against the dangers of foreign ownership.

Above all the report emphasises constant vigilance to ensure transport bottlenecks do not develop.

"We recommend that the government develops and implements a flexible but coherent national strategy that recognises the importance of ports and the cargoes that come through them to our national economy, as well as to regional development and growth," it concludes.

Responding to the select committee report, Christopher Snelling of the Freight Transport Association said that the future of the nation's ports was "crucial for every business and every consumer in the UK".

"If the UK's ports lack the ability to expand capacity they will be superseded by larger ports in Europe, and the UK will lose 'port of call' status," he warned.

The government is currently conducting a ports review, which will consider the findings of today's report. A wide range of sources is required, the report says, as its witnesses displayed significant differences of opinions on a number of issues.

The Department of Transport was unavailable for comment prior to the report's publication.