Khan orders crisis planners to be ready
London mayor says the London Resilience Forum would assess the impact of Britain crashing out of the EU on access to medicine, energy and food, as well as the ability to maintain emergency care, law and order
LONDON: The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan says he has “no choice” but to order London’s crisis planners to prepare for a no-deal Brexit.
Khan said the London Resilience Forum would assess the impact of Britain crashing out of the EU on access to medicine, energy and food, as well as the ability to maintain emergency care, law and order.
The group, whose 170 member organisations include police and the emergency services, is charged with preparing for and responding to crises including terror Attacks, THE Grenfell Tower ire AND any situation “which threatens serious damage to human welfare.”
Khan, said: “The government has completely mishandled the Brexit negotiations and been held hostage by the hard-brexit zealots in Parliament.
“Even ministers now admit that crashing out of the EU with no deal is now more likely than ever. If the government had taken a different approach to the negotiations this would never have been an option, but we are now left with no choice but to plan for a no-deal scenario.”
The Labour politician said City Hall was also working to help businesses prepare for any changes to the rights of EU citizens living and working in London.
Earlier this month, the government was warned that a no-deal Brexit would put public safety at risk and reduce policing capacity in Britain.
A letter from leaders of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) said the loss of key EU databases, the European Arrest Warrant system and full Europol membership “Could pose signiicant risks to our local communities.”
“These shared tools, measures, initiatives and capabilities which have been developed over the last 40 years of cooperation across the EU have saved many lives,” said the document, which was seen by The Independent.
“Considerable additional resource would be required for policing to operate using non-eu tools and that such tools would be sub-optimal – potentially putting operational EFICIENCY AND public safety at risk. “It is also recognised that recruitment, vetting, and training of staff to use these tools would take a substantial amount of time.”
The APCC’S Brexit working group, which contains Conservative, Labour and independent commissioners, said 32 law enforcement and national security measures are currently used on a daily basis in the UK.