UK government steps up no-deal Brexit planning

London, United Kingdom - The government of the United Kingdom has ramped up preparations for a no-deal departure from the European Union amid widespread criticism of British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal. In a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, ministers approved £2bn ($2.5bn) worth of funding for government departments to help them prepare for the UK leaving the 28-member bloc without a formal agreement on the terms of its withdrawal. All departments must also move to fully implement their emergency no-deal contingency plans, the cabinet agreed. Thousands of letters will be sent to businesses throughout the country advising them how to prepare for such a scenario. “Cabinet agreed that with just over three months until our exit from the European Union, we have now reached the point where we need to ramp up these [no-deal] preparations. This means we will now set in motion the remaining elements of our no-deal plans,” a spokesperson for May said. The UK is scheduled to depart the EU on March 29 next year, almost three years after 52 percent of Britons voted to quit the bloc during a divisive referendum held in June 2016. Economic forecasts suggest a no-deal departure could have a catastrophic impact on the UK’s economy. The Bank of England, the UK’s central bank, has warned Britain’s gross domestic product could shrink by up to eight percent in such a scenario. The government, meanwhile, has forecast a potential economic slump of more than nine percent in the wake of a no-deal Brexit.