MILITARY-STYLE PLAN TO ‘FEED THE NATION’ IF WE CRASH OUT
Supermarket chiefs have been summoned to crisis talks by the Government next week to combat fears of panic over food shortages if there is a No Deal Brexit.
Leaked documents seen by the Daily mail show that major food retailers have been invited to a ‘feed the nation’ Brexit summit by ministers next monday.
Supermarket bosses will be told to make military-style daily ‘conference call’ reports on food shortages to a Whitehall based Food Chain emergency Liaison Group (FCeLG) if the uk leaves the eu without a deal.
the calls will enable them to tell ministers if lorries with food imports are being held up at the Channel tunnel or in other traffic jams, which towns and cities are in danger of running out of supplies and where there have been big price rises.
Ominously, the document warns of the risk of the ‘high frequency of disruption’ in getting food on to shelves.
the disclosures are in a leaked document from michael Gove’s Department for envi- ronment, Food and rural affairs (DeFra) entitled Food Supply Flow and rhythm for running a No Deal Brexit.
using military-style language, it contains a diagram of DeFra’s secret ‘Brexit ops [room] set up’ and says the aim is to ‘gather intel on the supply chain and provide information back on border flows’.
although hopes were rising last night that theresa may will get her deal through, mr Gove has organised the meeting with the British retail Consortium, which represents most big supermarkets including Waitrose, asda, morrisons, aldi, Lidl, marks & Spencer, the Co-op and Sainsbury’s.
under mr Gove’s plans, in the event of No Deal, the shops will take part in secret daily ‘30 minute rapid intelligence gathering on shortages, geographical issues, contingencies deployed, supply chain failures, financial difficulties and critical dependencies’.
the document says retailers’ food crisis updates must be filed by ‘late morning or lunchtime’ at the latest.
If a No Deal Brexit causes more disruption than expected they will have to do so more often: ‘the frequency [of the reports] will be dictated by level of disruption, [which is] likely [to be] high. there must be effective collaboration and communication.’
a well-placed source said: ‘a No Deal outcome means there is a danger of empty
shelves in shops. That could cause panic among consumers. We have to be ready to minimise risks, react rapidly and prevent civil disorder.’
The FCELG is the Government’s food and farming version of COBRA, the emergency group of ministers and police, Armed Forces and intelligence chiefs that meets in Whitehall in the event of terror threats. The acronym COBRA is derived from the Whitehall committee room where it meets: Cabinet Office Briefing Room A. FCELG emergency sub-groups may be set up to deal with specific shortages such as of fresh produce. Fresh fruit and vegetables are among items most vulnerable.
Supermarket chiefs are ordered to give ‘high level data on stock levels, focus on staple food including chilled and fresh produce’ and ‘indicate [the level of] food supply across the UK’. Some Whitehall insiders say there is the possibility of using military trucks to keep food supplies moving.
To respond to worries that ruthless supermarkets may use a Brexit crisis to undercut their rivals they are told that they can speak to DEFRA in confidence in private on ‘commercially sensitive issues’.
A 120- strong ‘food supply unit’ team made up of senior Whitehall officials has been set up to co-ordinate the FCELG. If Britain leaves without a deal, both sides will fall back on the World Trade Organisation’s ‘most favoured nation’ tariffs, which mean paying duties on each other’s imports and exports.
Some experts say it could see the cost of staple foods such as meat, cheese, sugar and orange juice double overnight. Brexiteers claim these are scare stories.
Brexit has caused rising friction between the Government and supermarkets. Retailers were told months ago to make emergency planning including ‘super depots’ to cope with shortages in the event of No Deal. But some have failed to do so, arguing it will be a waste of money if the Prime Minister’s deal is approved.
The issue has also led to fierce Cabinet infighting. Mr Gove has argued for tariffs on key agricultural produce to be kept low to protect British farmers from cheap imports of New Zealand lamb and other produce.