‘No danger of Guinness drying up in UK’

THE owners of Guinness have reassured the British public that there will be no shortage of the black stuff in their pubs, off-licences and supermarkets after Brexit.

It comes after a senior British politician warned that pubs in the UK could run out of Guinness once Britain leaves the EU.

Vince Cable, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats, warned that an extreme scenario caused by a no deal or a very bad deal could lead to the supply ‘drying up’.

The MP was speaking after he and a party colleague, Edinburgh West MP Christine Jardine, met executives from global drinks giant Diageo in Edinburgh and discussed the possible impact of Brexit. The firm, one of the world’s biggest distillers, whose brands also include Baileys, Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker, stressed that its products would still be available in the UK regardless of the Brexit outcome. But Mr Cable said: ‘It’s a global business, it depends on having frictionless borders. Anything that screws up their trade is a problem for them. There are some specific issues: the supply chains in Ireland, for example, go across the Irish frontier – you’ve got whiskey going one way and cream going the other to make Baileys. Any friction at the border which did not stop supplies would result in increased costs.’

However, Diageo insisted there is no prospect of the UK’s Guinness supply – brewed at St James’s Gate in Dublin – drying up. A spokesman said : ‘We’ve made it clear that a frictionless border in Ireland is the best outcome for every business, large and small.

‘Regardless of the outcome, rest assured we will ensure Guinness, the world’s favourite stout, is available to be enjoyed throughout the UK and Ireland for decades to come.’