Food, medicine and blood will be stockpiled if no deal looks likely

‘We are working with industry for potential stockpiling in the event of a no-deal Brexit’

STOCKPILES of food, medicine and blood will be built up if a no-deal Brexit becomes the likely outcome of divorce negotiations with Brussels, ministers said yesterday as Theresa May took personal charge of talks.

Dominic Raab, the Brexit Secretary, told the Brexit select committee that ministers would ensure Britain had “adequate food supplies” in the event that no agreement could be reached.

Meanwhile, Matt Hancock, the Health and Social Care Secretary, said he had asked officials to “work up options for stockpiling” medical supplies. He told the health select committee: “We are working with industry for the potential need for stockpiling in the event of a no-deal Brexit.”

It came as Mrs May announced she was formally taking charge of talks with the EU, effectively demoting Mr Raab just two weeks after his appointment. The Prime Minister said in a statement to Parliament that she would “lead the negotiations with the European Union”, with Mr Raab tasked with “deputising”.

She also announced her Europe Unit, a group of civil servants based within the Cabinet Office who will report directly to her, had been given “overall responsibility” for preparing and conducting negotiations.

The decision to hand more power to the unit headed by Olly Robbins, Mrs May’s chief Brexit negotiator, apparently at the expense of Mr Raab’s Department for Exiting the European Union, sparked fury among Brexiteers.

But Downing Street said the Prime Minister had “always been in charge of the negotiations”.