The Daily Telegraph - 19.08.2019

‘Gauke-ward Squad’

Johnson urged

to start £130m

‘media blitz’

on no-deal exit

By Christopher Hope

Chief PolitiCal CorresPondent

BORIS JOHNSON has been told to

bring forward a £130 million advertis-

ing campaign in a major “media blitz”

to prepare the UK for Brexit without a

deal, after the leak of Government no-

deal warnings sparked fresh alarm.

David Jones, a former Brexit minis-

ter, said that the new campaign should

be started immediately rather than de-

layed until next month when most peo-

ple have returned from holiday.

The advertising campaign across tel-

evision, radio, newspapers and the in-

ternet will be the biggest public

information campaign since the end of

the Second World War and is intended

to prepare Britons for a no-deal exit

from the European Union on Oct 31.

Mr Jones said there was no time to

waste and the Government had to do

more to counter concerns among

members of the public about leaving

without a deal.

Ministers were forced onto the back

foot by a leak of the details of White-

hall’s Operation Yellowhammer, which

was prepared by Theresa May’s admin-

istration to set out the risks of no deal.

The leak to The Sunday Times dis-

closed that the UK will be hit with a

three-month “meltdown” at its ports,

a hard Irish border and shortages of

fresh food and medicine after it

leaves the bloc.

According to the documents, pet-

rol import tariffs would “inadvert-

ently” lead to the closure of two oil

refineries, while protests across the

UK could “require significant

amounts of police resources”.

They also warned that Gibraltar

could face delays of up to four hours

at the border with Spain for “at least a

few months” and delays at EU airports,

St Pancras, Eurotunnel and Dover.

Mr Jones told The Daily Telegraph:

“The Government should be conduct-

ing a very intensive information cam-

paign, to make up for the failure of the

previous administration to do so.

“This should include advertising,

certainly, but it should also be accom-

panied by a media blitz by ministers,

especially the Prime Minister. This will

have the dual effect of reassuring the

public and demonstrating to the EU

that we mean business.”

New figures disclosed under Free-

dom of Information laws show that the

Government spent £10,842,063 on their

Prepare For EU Exit adverts between

November 2018 and July this year.

The Cabinet Office spent £2.7 million

on print, £2.4 million on radio, £1.2 mil-

lion on TV and more than £1 million on

social media advertising, and a further

£3 million on other platforms, accord-

ing to the data.

Ministers tried to shut down con-

cerns about the warnings in the Opera-

tion Yellowhammer document by

saying they amounted to “scaremon-

gering”, even though they had been

written by civil servants. Business min-

ister Kwasi Kwarteng told Sky’s Sophy

Ridge on Sunday: “I think there is a lot

of scaremongering around and a lot of

people are playing into Project Fear

and all the rest of it.”

Michael Gove, Chancellor to the

Duchy of Lancaster, added: “We don’t

normally comment on leaks – but a few

facts – Yellowhammer is a worst-case

scenario.” He added that “very signifi-

cant steps have been taken in the

past three weeks to accelerate Brexit

planning.”

A Government spokesman said: “We

have stepped up preparations to ensure

we are ready for Brexit and we have

been reviewing the guidance we are is-

suing across Whitehall to ensure we are

fully prepared for leaving on 31 Octo-

ber, whatever the circumstances.

“It is paramount that organisations,

communities and citizens have the right

information and support for Brexit.”

£10,842,

How much the Government spent on

Prepare for EU Exit adverts between

November 2018 and July 2019

No-deal Tory

Brexit blockers

The so-called “Gauke-

ward Squad” of Tory

MPs – led by former

chancellor Philip

Hammond and ex-justice

secretary David Gauke

• will do anything short
  of bringing down the
  Government to stop a
  no-deal. Twenty-one
  Tory MPs signed a
  letter to Boris
  Johnson shortly
  after he became
  Prime Minister
  urging him to
  avoid a no-deal
  exit from the EU.
  That number has
  now increased to as
  many as 40 Tory
  MPs.

No-deal legislative

Brexit blockers

John Bercow, Speaker of

the House of Commons,

is the leader of this

group, which includes

Oliver Letwin, who are

determined to ensure

Parliament gets a vote

on a no-deal exit. Mr

Bercow has laid down

the gauntlet to Mr

Johnson over any

plans to

suspend

Parliament

while the

UK

leaves,

saying he

would

fight it

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The Daily Telegraph Monday 19 August 2019 *** 5

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