I’m confident we can cope with No Deal, claims Boris
THE Prime Minister has claimed the country can now ‘confidently’ say it is prepared for a No Deal Brexit thanks to a ‘Herculean effort’ by ministers and civil servants since he entered No10.
The Government yesterday published a ‘readiness report’ detailing the contingencies it has put in place in case the country leaves the EU without a deal at the end of this month.
Ministers insisted they had taken steps to avoid shortages of food, medicine and fuel, as they urged shoppers not to panic-buy.
But they admitted that border delays could lead to reduced availability of some fresh fruit and vegetables on supermarket shelves. In a foreword, the Prime Minister declared he is ‘determined to deliver [Brexit] by the end of this month’, as it is ‘time to come out!’
He wrote: ‘When I became Prime Minister, I gave the order that preparing for No Deal is the central task of all officials, and that is why I asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – my friend and colleague Michael Gove – to take on one of the most important jobs in government: to prepare the UK for a No Deal Brexit.’
Mr Johnson said over the past three months ‘we have made huge strides in preparedness and can now confidently say that the UK is prepared.’
The 155-page report sets out the preparations under way to ensure that goods continue to flow smoothly across the UK and EU border after Brexit, with information given to traders, businesses and hauliers on what they need to do to prepare.
The Government said this includes HMRC sending 220,000 businesses guidance on the steps they need to take to import and export after Brexit.
The document also details measures such as significant increases in the number of customs agents at the borders, a new import/export helpline to answer businesses’ questions and what is hailed as the largest ever government public information campaign to get people ready for Brexit.
Ministers said that while there will be no overall shortage of food, there may be reduced availability and choice of a ‘limited number of short shelf-life fruit and vegetables’ if there are hold-ups at the border.
Yesterday, Mr Gove said failing to honour the Brexit referendum result or allowing Jeremy Corbyn into power would be ‘far worse’ than the disruption of No Deal.
He told MPs: ‘Of course No Deal will bring challenges. I have been open about that today as I have been in the past... But whatever challenges No Deal may create in the short-term, and they are significant, these can and will be overcome.’
He added: ‘I’ve yet to meet a single businessman, woman or organisation that thinks a No Deal Brexit would be worse than a Jeremy Corbyn government.’
Ministers yesterday admitted that under a No Deal Brexit businesses would face an extra annual ‘administrative burden’ of £7.5billion thanks to the extra customs declarations for imports and exports.
Meanwhile, MPs were warned there are not enough trained staff to handle the paperwork traders will need to fill in.
Dr Anna Jerzewska, an independent adviser at the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation’s International Trade Centre, told the Commons home affairs committee was there were ‘shortages of people who understand customs even before Brexit’.
‘Huge strides in preparedness’