ACTION STATIONS!
War games for the worst-case scenario
CHRISTMAS leave will be cancelled for officials and hundreds of border staff deployed under government preparations for a No Deal Brexit which will begin this week.
War games codenamed ‘ Operation Capstone’, which will mock up the worst- case scenarios, will test the country’s readiness on Wednesday.
Officials will test border disruption and fishing boats entering the UK’s waters illegally.
In one of the biggest peacetime operations, the combined forces of the police, border guards, customs officials and military personnel will help keep the UK moving.
An extensive operation months in the planning will be rolled out whether Britain leaves the EU with a deal or not. The plan includes seven inland sites to handle extra border checks away from ports to keep lorries moving.
A 27-acre lorry park off the M20 will be opened in case of huge queues caused by lengthy border checks at Dover. A bespoke app will also be rolled out to help hauliers know which site they need to go to.
Up to 900 extra officials will try to smooth over processes at the border, checking lorries and enforcing new import controls.
According to the Sun on Sunday, Christmas leave will be cancelled for senior officials carrying i out t particularly ti l l sensii tive and important roles.
Some 14,000 military personnel on standby to help could also have their leave put on hold if they are needed.
As revealed on Saturday, four Royal Navy vessels will also be deployed off the coast to stop French trawlers fishing in British waters if there is no deal. The Navy will have the power to arrest French and other EU fishermen who illegally enter Britain’s waters.
In any scenario, the UK Government is bringing in a Fish Export Et SS er vicei which hih will ill issuei validated catch certificates free of charge and offer round the clock technical support.
There will be more than 20 helplines for tourists, businesses and other sectors needing advice amid concerns the public could be baffled by the changes. Cabinet minister Michael Gove has been overseeing a series of dummy runs over the last year. Officials have tried to play out all foreseeable scenarios with ministerapproved responses so they can be put into action quickly.
Some 14,000 personnel are on standby to help with the rollout of coronavirus vaccines and any bad turn of weather.
One plan will see between 70 and 100 lorries of perishable goods per day fast-tracked so they do not have to queue in long tailbacks.
A senior UK Government source said: ‘These plans work in real life – not just on paper. We’ve run live exercises, moving fresh produce and fish across the border, and scrambled naval vessels to respond to threats of illegal fishing in our soon-to-be sovereign waters.’
But SNP Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has insisted that the Scottish Government’s Marine Scotland quango has ‘primacy’ in Scotland’s waters and insisted that the Royal Navy gunboats could not be deployed without the consent of the Chief Constable of Police Scotland.
Any bid by SNP ministers not to abide by the foreign policy decisions of the UK Government would set up a major constitutional row.
Constitution Secretary Michael Russell called the UK Government’s remarks about using the Navy to patrol fishing waters ‘utterly insane’.