Left at the full time whistle and got the 1713 to Eastbourne. The staff even appeared to be checking for wristbands on the priority walkway which was less busy presumably as a result.
Could be. The eastbound platform seemed to have more people on it than normal when I was on it and I didn't expect to be able to walk straight on to it. There also seemed to be less staff around than normal which may have had something to do with it too.