Yellowhammer ‘shows the chaos NI will face’
OPERATION Yellowhammer gives the public a small glimpse of the chaos Northern Ireland faces if the UK is forced out of the EU with no deal, the SDLP has said.
The Government insists Operation Yellowhammer is a “worst case scenario”, despite claims from Labour the no-deal Brexit plans are more like “emergency planning for a war or natural disaster”.
The papers, released by the Government, set out how the UK might be affected by a nodeal Brexit, with some possible disruption including delays in importing medicines, and disruption at ports and borders.
SDLP Brexit spokesman Daniel McCrossan MLA said those refusing to oppose a no-deal exit should explain their position to people who will lose their jobs as a result.
He said: “The Yellowhammer document sets out clearly some of the chaos we can expect to experience if Northern Ireland is forced out of the European Union without a deal.
“Aside from the 40,000 job losses our own civil service has predicted, we’re looking at agrifood businesses shutting up shop, increasing prices for consumers, the return of border checks and that’s just the start.
“Every DUP MP who has repeatedly refused to vote against no deal has brought us closer to this disaster.
“They should explain to the people facing losing their jobs and the business owners who will lose their livelihoods that they’re about to become collateral damage in a pointless political game.
“People here are not chips to be gambled with.”
Yesterday Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Yellowhammer represents a “worst case scenario” plan, and the Government is working “every day” to mitigate the potential effects.
Mr Wallace said Yellowhammer is a “planning assumption”, but stressed that it is only what might happen if the Government was to do nothing to mitigate it.
He said: “That is why we are doing things about it. That is why the Chancellor opened his cheque book, that’s why we are spending the money on doing lots of things to mitigate those assumptions. Every day we plan everything from whether we need to find alternative suppliers, whether we need to go out to the private sector to charter things, whether we need to plan using our army or our police forces in certain scenarios.”
Labour, however, said the papers prove it would be a “catastrophe” if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said Parliament should be recalled immediately so the Prime Minister can answer questions in relation to Operation Yellowhammer, which he said is more like planning for “war or a natural disaster”.
“It reveals an absolute catastrophe for our country if he continues to drive the ship towards the rocks as he is going to do,” he said.
“This is more like emergency planning for war or a natural disaster.
“We cannot minimise this. It does not get more stark, and we have got to wake up to the issues around us.”