Page 10 Daily Mail, Monday, August 19, 2019By John Stevens and Larisa Brown‘Port chaos, protests and
clashes over fishing’Deal Brexit, as well as a return of a
hard border in Ireland. According
to the papers, petrol import tariffs
would ‘inadvertently’ lead to the
closure of two oil refineries, while
protests could ‘require significant
amounts of police resources’ in a
No Deal scenario.
They also warn that Gibraltar
could face delays of up to four
hours at the border with Spain for
‘at least a few months’.
Michael Gove, who is responsible
for No Deal planning, insisted
preparations had been ramped up
since Mr Johnson took office. Mr
Gove said: ‘This is an old docu-
ment. Since it was published and
circulated, the Government has
taken significant steps to ensure
that we are prepared to leave on
October 31 – deal or No Deal.’
‘Any prudent government will
always plan for absolutely the
worst case [scenario]. We will be
making sure that everyone in the
country is prepared as they can be.
Of course, there are challenges
with leaving without a deal, but
there are also opportunities.’ Mr
Gove said the UK would not be
bringing back a hard border with
Ireland, but added: ‘What the EU
decides is a matter for them.’
Mr Gove mocked claims there is
another secret Whitehall operation
code-named ‘Black Swan’ to pre-
pare for the worst-case scenario.
He wrote: ‘Black Swan is not an
HM Government document but a
film about a ballet dancer...’
Mr Kwarteng dismissed the warn-
ings in the documents as ‘scare-
mongering’, telling Sky News’: ‘We
will be fully prepared to leave with-
out a deal on October 31.’
The government of Gibraltar said
the documents were ‘out of date’
and based on ‘planning for worst
case scenarios’ while former minis-
ters Iain Duncan Smith and Owen
Paterson claimed the leak showed
the ‘establishment’ plot to ‘sow
fear’. However, former head of the
civil service Lord Kerslake said the
dossier ‘lays bare the scale of the
risks we are facing’.
Comment – Page 16THE Tory civil war on Brexit exploded
last night as Downing Street accused
bitter ex-ministers of leaking dire No
Deal warnings to sabotage Boris
Johnson’s talks with Brussels.
Ahead of his debut on the world stage
this week, a bombshell dossier revealed
official predictions of food, fuel and medi-
cine shortages if the Prime Minister fails
to reach an agreement with the EU.
The document, under the codename Opera-
tion Yellowhammer, also warned of three
months of chaos at ports, clashes with EU
fishing vessels and a crisis for social care.
Downing Street claimed the forecasts were
the work of the previous administration, out
of date and showing a worst-case scenario.
A No 10 source blamed former frontbenchers
led by Philip Hammond. It said the dossier,
apparently written by Cabinet Office officials,
was ‘from when ministers were blocking what
needed to be done to get ready to leave and
the funds were not available’.
‘It has been deliberately leaked by a former
minister in an attempt to influence discus-
sions with EU leaders,’ the source added.
The row came days after Mr Hammond, the
former chancellor, broke his silence with an
interview claiming that a No Deal Brexit
would be just as much of a ‘betrayal’ as not
leaving. A spokesman for Mr Hammond
declined to comment on whether he was
behind the leak.
Mr Johnson will meet German Chancellor
Angela Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday before
heading to Paris on Thursday for talks with
French President Emmanuel Macron. The
Prime Minister will attend a G7 summit in the
French resort of Biarritz next weekend.
Mr Johnson is expected to tell his EuropeanRemain campaigner: Cabinet know
they can’t shut down Parliament
Leaked No Deal
ANTI-BREXIT campaigner Gina
Miller has claimed the Govern-
ment ‘unequivocally’ accepts
that it cannot close down Par-
liament to force No Deal.
The businesswoman, who last
month wrote to Boris Johnson
arguing any such move ‘would
be an abuse of his powers’ and
result in legal action, said she
had been reassured Parliament
would not be suspended.
Mrs Miller previously went to
court and won the right for
Parliament to give its consent
ahead of the triggering of Arti-
cle 50 to begin the Brexit proc-
ess. She told Sky News: ‘Whatthey have said is unequivocally
they accept that to close
down Parliament to bypass
them in terms of Brexit –
stopping a No Deal Brexit in
particular – is illegal.
‘So without having to go to
court they’ve conceded we’ve
basically called their bluff.’
But Mrs Miller said she
would be seeking further reas-
surance that MPs would be able
to pass legislation to stop a
No Deal Brexit.
She said: ‘Parliament has to
find a way – instruments and
ways – of ensuring that they can
pass that legislation, [the] scru-tinising [of] which is what the
Government letter has con-
firmed – that Parliament will be
able to scrutinise and examine
all options when it comes to
exiting. It’s not the same as
giving them the ability to
pass legislation.
‘And because we already have
in legislation that October 31
is our exit, they need to pass
other legislation to prevent No
Deal or to change that date
after an extension.’
Energy minister Kwasi
Kwarteng also told Sky News:
‘We are not talking about
proroguing Parliament.’counterparts that he is deadly serious about
his commitment to take the country out of
the EU on October 31 – with or without a deal.
He will use the trips to make the case that
Parliament ‘will not and cannot’ cancel the
result of the 2016 referendum.
In other developments:
O Mrs Merkel insisted she would keep trying
to find a deal until October 31, but said Ger-
many would be prepared for No Deal.
O Energy minister Kwasi Kwarteng appeared
to rule out the idea that Mr Johnson might
prorogue Parliament to stop any attempt to
thwart Brexit.
O A cross-party group of more than 100 MPs
urged the PM to recall Parliament and let it
sit permanently until the UK leaves the EU.
The government documents leaked to the
Sunday Times warned the country will face
three months of chaos at ports under a No÷ Doomsday
document
reveals
apocalyptic
forecasts
for Brexit
÷No10 says
‘out of date’
f iles were
passed on by
axed ministers
to wreck talks
÷Hammond
responds: No
comment!