‘No-deal’ spells chaos for U.K., report says
Documents paint bleak picture as Johnson vows to leave EU by Oct. 31
An increasingly likely “no-deal” Brexit could wreak far-reaching havoc on Britain’s economy, infrastructure and social fabric, according to classified government documents leaked to a British newspaper.
Food and social-care prices would rise, while medical supplies could face severe delays since most of Britain’s medicines come through English Channel crossings, the Sunday Times says the documents indicate. Border delays would interrupt fuel supplies. Ports would only partially recover after three months of severe disruptions, leaving traffic at 50 to 70 per cent of the current flow.
Those are just a few of the effects predicted by “Operation Yellowhammer,” which the London-based newspaper says was compiled this month by Britain’s Cabinet Office and available to those with security clearances on a “need-toknow” basis.
The leak comes as Brexit critics warn that crashing out of the European Union without an agreement will damage the British economy, devalue its currency and create instability. British leaders have sought unsuccessfully since the divisive 2016 Brexit vote to pass a “divorce” plan.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron this week to press his case for a new Brexit deal. At the moment, negotiations are at a standstill.
Opposition lawmakers have been discussing ways of potentially stopping a no-deal Brexit, including bringing down the government by calling a vote of no confidence in the Johnson administration in early September. It’s unclear whether Johnson would win such a vote.
Johnson, a leading voice in the Brexit movement, has promised to get the U.K. out of the EU — deal or no deal — by Oct. 31, and said a redo of the 2016 independence vote would undercut public faith in the country’s democracy. The Yellowhammer documents provide a sobering view of what Johnson’s plan could mean for Britain, describing delays across borders and new barriers to trade that would affect travellers, disrupt the flow of goods and lead to unrest. According to the Sunday Times, the Yellowhammer report predicts the need to restore a “hard border” with limited, controlled crossing points in Ireland, which could cause protests and block roads. Johnson has maintained that a “cando spirit” can help avert such a change. But the findings anticipate that measures to avoid a hard border will probably “prove unsustainable.”
Simon Coveney, Ireland’s deputy prime minister, tweeted that Ireland was “respectful” of Britain’s decision to leave the EU but reiterated Ireland’s position that a hard border between the Republic of Ireland, which is in the EU, and Northern Ireland, which is in the U.K., “must be avoided.”
Michael Gove, a senior Conservative MP who is effectively in charge of planning for a nodeal Brexit, told the BBC the documents were “old” and detailed “worst-case” scenarios.