Theresa May unveils 'no deal' contingency planning for Brexit
2 min read
The Government has revealed contingency plans for if the UK crashes out of the European Union without a future trade deal.
Theresa May told MPs Britain was prepared for "all eventualities" in relation to trade following Brexit - including the prospect of leaving without a deal.
She made the comments as the Government released two white papers on future trade and customs arrangements, the latter containing some proposals for a 'no deal' scenario.
On the planned customs arrangements, the Government said the country must be able to “operate a standalone customs regime” if it quits on World Trade Organisation terms.
The paper proposed that some lorries carrying goods in and out of the UK would have to be checked in advance to avoid major build-ups at ports.
Other modes of goods transport such as rail and maritime - and even individuals bringing small quantities in and out of the country - would remain broadly as they do now, the paper went on.
And it added: “Leaving the EU without a negotiated settlement is not the government’s preferred outcome, but it is essential that the UK is prepared for all possible outcomes on customs, VAT and excise arrangements.”
The Prime Minister told the Commons that “real and tangible progress” had been made in talks with the European Union since her speech in Florence last month.
She added: "While I believe it is profoundly in all our interests for the negotiations to succeed, it is also our responsibility as a Government to prepare for every eventuality, so that is exactly what we are doing."
'15 MONTHS WASTED'
But Jeremy Corbyn said the Government had met none of the original twelve objectives for Brexit talks it set out in January of this year, and said the plans were “no clearer”.
"The Florence speech demonstrated the scale of the mess the government is making of these negotiations," the Labour leader declared.
"15 months on, we’re still no clearer what the future of this country will look like. The question must be asked, what on earth has the government been doing all this time?”
He answered his own question: "Calling an election in which voters refused to give the Prime Minister she wanted, and since then, cabinet ministers have been squabbling amongst themselves all that time."
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