Emergency no-deal Brexit contingency plans must now be implemented across government, cabinet ministers have agreed, including reserving ferry space for supplies and putting 3,500 armed forces personnel on standby to deal with any disruption.
No 10 confirmed on Tuesday that cabinet ministers would “ramp up” no-deal planning, and that the departments would be expected to make it their main priority.
Downing Street said it would send advice on preparing for no deal to all UK businesses and suggested they should begin implementing their own contingency plans as they saw fit.
Theresa May’s spokesman said the cabinet “agreed that delivering the deal that the prime minister agreed with Brussels remains the government’s top priority and our best no-deal mitigation”.
The spokesman said it was the government’s “continued duty to prepare for every eventuality, including a no-deal situation”. Ministers acknowledged the steps that had already been taken, Number 10 said, including 320 “no-deal workstreams” across all departments and 106 no-deal technical notices, Number 10 said.
Cabinet agreed that with just over three months from our exit from the EU, we have now reached the point where we need to ramp up these preparations. This means we will now set in motion the remaining elements of our no-deal plans. Cabinet also agreed to recommend businesses ensure they are similarly prepared enacting their own no-deal plans.
Downing Street suggested preparations could include reserving space on ferries in order to ensure a supply of food and medicines.
The cabinet meeting marks the first steps in an attempt by May to persuade rebellious Tory MPs that the alternatives to her Brexit deal are worse before the meaningful vote in the week of 14 January.
Leave-supporting ministers emerged cheered from the meeting, because the idea of holding a series of indicative votes on Brexit, which has been gaining ground in recent days, was firmly rejected by the prime minister, who is determined to bring her deal back in January.