Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Tories assume crash position
Govt has secretly been getting ready for No Deal for months UK splashed more than £1,000 on EU banners
MORE than £1,000 of taxpayers’ money was spent on EU flags in the run-up to and after the Brexit vote. The Foreign Office splashed the cash on a dozen of the blue banners featuring 12 gold stars between January 2016 and May of Government departments in July, a few weeks after the election. We asked whether they had a contingency plan for a No Deal scenario and, if so, could we have a copy.
Some departments failed to reply. Of those that did eventually respond, many confessed they’d had a No Deal plan in place for months.
Preparations by the Department for Exiting the EU were under way in July. It said:
“Given the long lead-in times to put in place many contingency measures, we can’t wait until we see the final outcome of the negotiations to begin preparing.”
The Treasury, the Department for International Trade, and the Department for Transport were among the major departments that admitted they had plans for a No Deal scenario on the go at least three months ago.
The DIT said: “[We are] working closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union and other departments to contribute to the Government’s preparations for Brexit,
SLAMS THE SECRET PLANS
this year. More may have been bought from non-recommended suppliers, suggesting the true number of flags and the bill to the public could be much higher.
Now run by leading Leaver Boris Johnson, it refused to provide a breakdown of when exactly the flags were bought – meaning it is possible some were purchased following the advising on the implications and operational aspects of EU exit for our trading relationships. “This includes plans to ensure the department is ready to deliver a new independent trade framework in the absence of any deal with the EU by March 2019.”
The Department of Health was not making preparations in July but revealed it is now. An official said: “I can confirm [we are] developing contingency plans in case of a No Deal scenario.”
Responding to our findings, Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable said: “The Government should rule out a No Deal because talking up the prospect of an angry divorce simply leads to business reducing investment, both from abroad and by our own companies.” Independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation said last week that a No Deal Brexit would leave millions of UK families £500 a year worse off.
Despite this and other warnings, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson yesterday insisted Britain would be fine even if the Government fails to negotiate an agreement. He said: “We have to prepare for every eventuality... We will come through it very well whatever happens.”
Brexit Secretary David Davis yesterday said leaving without a deal is “not our intention”, adding that it is a “very distant possibility”. Out vote on June 23 last year. Replying to a freedom of information request, the FCO’S Global Transaction Processing Centre said: “It is not possible to identify all expenditure on EU flags as flag purchases are not centrally procured.”
The statement said that as flag purchases are not “listed as separate account entries”, the only way to identify individual purchases would be to review all entries on the FCO’S accounts.
It added: “However, where posts/uk departments have chosen to use a supplier recommended by the FCO procurement team we can confirm that since January 2016 12 EU flags were purchased at a cost of £1,037.45.”