THE GOVERNMENT department responsible for dealing with the outbreak of pestilence, famine, war, and other disasters, is working on preparations for a no-deal Brexit.
That was revealed yesterday when the Treasury’s secret no-deal Brexit contingency plans were unwittingly shared with the country after a hapless official accidentally showed them off to a photographer outside the Cabinet Office.
READ MORE: Mundell admits 'chaotic Brexit' will fuel Yes campaign
The documents revealed that the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, the government department responsible for responding to emergency situations, like flu pandemics, had spent a weekend discussing what might happen in the UK crashes out of Europe with no deal.
Their response to the prospect of a hard Brexit has been christened “Operation Yellowhammer” after an at-risk bird, native to Britain, which has a bright yellow head, and which Enid Blyton once described as having a song that sounds like “little piece of bread, no cheese”.
It suggests that the Government are working on a communications strategy to try and stop the UK from panicking if negotiations go badly.
The briefing documents state: “The Civil Contingencies Secretariat held a two-day workshop last week to review departments’ plans, assumptions, interdependencies and next steps”.
Under the sub-heading “HMT Objectives”, the paper reveals it is an aim of the Treasury to build a “communications architecture” that can “help maintain confidence in the event of contingency plans being triggered”.
The document adds this is “particularly important for financial services” and seems to include a reference to “aviation and rail access to the EU” .
The papers also seem to show that the Treasury expects other Whitehall departments to fund no-deal Brexit preparations through “internal reprioritisation” of resources.
Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, a supporter of the People’s Vote campaign, said: “With the Operation Yellowhammer revelation, we now know the Government is preparing for Brexit in the same way they’d approach catastrophes like flooding, a disease outbreak or a terrorist attack.
“This is not what anyone voted for in 2016.”
Meanwhile, the head of the CBI warned that a no deal Brexit would pose “catastrophic risks” to the Scottish economy.
Speaking to an audience of Scottish business leaders, Carolyn Fairbairn warned that a hard Brexit and no free trade with Europe would damage the country’s food exports, professional services firms, and could put Scotland’s status as “fintech power “ at risk.
“No-deal is just not an option, “ she said.
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