LEWIS MOONIE, FORMER LABOUR MP FOR KIRKCALDY

Much has been made over the past day or two of the need to stockpile medicines, blood products and food in the event of us leaving the EU without an agreement.

We have seen two rather inexperienced Cabinet ministers humming and hawing about the need for preparations to be made.

Gleeful opponents of Brexit have seized on this opportunity to underline the so-called risks of us leaving without agreement.

It has also naturally provided meat and drink for many wags on Twitter, a rich mine of humour suitable for any silly season.

Yet there is a serious point at issue here. One may comfortably ignore the wilder frothing at the mouth of some Remainers, desperate for any ammunition they can find to further their attempts to frustrate the decision we took two years ago, but accept that there is considerable merit in stockpiling essentials such as food, medicines and fuel in peacetime.

That was, after all, one of the principles underlying the Civil Contingencies Act Of 2004, for which I chaired the pre-legislative committee of both Houses that looked at the problem.

The trouble with effective stockpiling is that it is expensive and logistically complicated. Carrying large stocks of perishable goods requires precise management.

Yet that is what we do just now, all the time. How else do we supply supermarkets, hospitals or petrol stations, day-in, day-out?

The fact that government is at last waking up to the need for proper resilience, the ability to handle any crisis that occurs, should be applauded. That’s what governments ought to be doing.

As for myself, I practise what I preach. For years I’ve kept a stockpile of essentials at home, just in case of emergencies, to the wry amusement of wife and family.

I don’t believe that we are in danger from leaving the EU. I voted against joining in 1975 and have waited a long time for this day. Still, it is hard to foresee the future and prudent for the country to be prepared for disaster, natural or man-made.