LONDON - Britain will face shortages of
fuel, food and medicine if it leaves the European Union without
a transition deal, jamming ports and requiring a hard border in
Ireland, official government documents leaked to the Sunday
Times show.
The Times said the forecasts compiled by the Cabinet Office
set out the most likely aftershocks of a no-deal Brexit rather
than the worst case scenarios. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's
office said it did not comment on leaked documents.
The newspaper said up to 85% of lorries using the main
channel crossings "may not be ready" for French customs, meaning
disruption at ports would potentially last up to three months
before the flow of traffic improves.
The government also believes a hard border between the
British province of Northern Ireland and the Republic of
Ireland, an EU member, will be likely as current plans to avoid
widespread checks will prove unsustainable, the Times said.
"Compiled this month by the Cabinet Office under the
codename Operation Yellowhammer, the dossier offers a rare
glimpse into the covert planning being carried out by the
government to avert a catastrophic collapse in the nation's
infrastructure," the Times reported.
"The file, marked "official-sensitive" — requiring security
clearance on a "need to know" basis — is remarkable because it
gives the most comprehensive assessment of the UK’s readiness
for a no-deal Brexit."
Asked about the Yellowhammer documents, energy minister
Kwasi Kwarteng told Sky News: "I think there's a lot of
scaremongering around, and a lot of people are playing into
'Project Fear' ... We've got to prepare for no deal."
"We will be fully prepared to leave without a deal on the
31st of October."
The United Kingdom is heading towards a constitutional
crisis at home and a showdown with the EU as Johnson has
repeatedly vowed to leave the bloc on Oct. 31 without a deal
unless it agrees to renegotiate the Brexit divorce.
After more than three years of Brexit dominating EU affairs,
the bloc has repeatedly refused to reopen the Withdrawal
Agreement which includes an Irish border insurance policy that
Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May, agreed in November.
Brexit minister Stephen Barclay said on Twitter he had
signed a piece of legislation which set in stone the repeal of
the 1972 European Communities act - the laws which made Britain
a member of the organisation now known as the EU.
Though his move was largely procedural, in line with
previously approved laws, Barclay said in a statement: "This is
a clear signal to the people of this country that there is no
turning back (from Brexit)."
RECALL PARLIAMENT
A group of more than 100 lawmakers wrote to Johnson calling
for an emergency recall of parliament to discuss the situation.
"We face a national emergency, and parliament must now be
recalled in August and sit permanently until October 31 so that
the voices of the people can be heard, and that there can be
proper scrutiny of your government," the letter said.
Johnson will this week tell French President Emmanuel Macron
and German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the Westminster
parliament cannot stop Brexit and a new deal must be agreed if
Britain is to avoid leaving the EU without one.
The prime minister is coming under pressure from politicians
across the political spectrum to prevent a disorderly departure,
with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn vowing this week to bring
down Johnson's government in early September to delay Brexit.
It is, however, unclear if lawmakers have the unity or power
to use the British parliament to prevent a no-deal departure -
likely to be the United Kingdom's most significant move since
World War Two.
Opponents of no deal say it would be a disaster for what was
once one of the West's most stable democracies. A disorderly
divorce, they say, would hurt global growth, send shockwaves
through financial markets and weaken London’s claim to be the
world’s preeminent financial centre.
Brexit supporters say there may be short-term disruption
from a no-deal exit but that the economy will thrive if cut free
from what they cast as a doomed experiment in integration that
has led to Europe falling behind China and the United States.