UK less able to cope with hard Brexit than it was in spring, say officials

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

UK less able to cope with hard Brexit than it was in spring, say officials

Exclusive: Analysis includes stark assessments of potential problems including panic-buying and civil disorder

Nick Hopkins
Thu 1 Aug 2019 19.41 BST Last modified on Thu 1 Aug 2019 21.00 BST

The UK is currently less able to cope with a hard Brexit than it was in the spring, with the real risk of panic-buying in the run-up to Christmas and civil disorder if the country leaves the EU without a deal on 31 October, an official document reveals.

The prime minister, Boris Johnson, has made Michael Gove responsible for “turbo-charging” Brexit planning, and on Thursday the new chancellor, Sajid Javid, announced an extra £2.1bn of funding to prepare for a no-deal exit.

But with less than 100 days to go before the autumn deadline, the Cabinet Office’s own internal analysis includes stark assessments of the potential problems ahead.

A document circulating Whitehall shows some of the government’s “reasonable worst-case scenarios” (RCWS) have changed over the summer, including those related to the supply of food and medicines.

In a stiffening of language, papers seen by the Guardian say:

• A reasonable worst-case scenario is that the supply of medicines and medical supplies “will be impacted by reduced flow rates across the Dover Straits”.
• While officials are not anticipating an overall shortage of food, they believe there will be disruption to the food supply chain. This “will lead” to increases in prices of certain fresh produce, “which could impact on vulnerable groups”.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/aug/01/uk-less-able-to-cope-with-hard-brexit-than-in-spring-say-officials

[OnDoutside]

1. And the pound is tanking, meaning imports are becoming more expensive.