Gordon Brown: Government 'still not telling truth' about no-deal Brexit risks

Former prime minister Gordon Brown
PA
Rebecca Speare-Cole12 September 2019
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Gordon Brown claims the Government is "still not telling the truth" about no-deal Brexit risks and is trying to "minimise the damage" by claiming Operation Yellow Hammer sets out the worst case scenario.

It comes after Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed the paper she received was entitled "base scenario", whereas the one published by Downing Street is described as a "reasonable worst case scenario".

Mr Brown has called for further information to be released and argued that the report concealed the full truth about shortages to vital medicines and drugs.

The former Prime Minister said: "What the Government are trying to do is to minimise the damage that they know is going to be done by saying it's very, very unlikely.

"What is exposed is the threat to medical supplies, to food supplies and to components for industry and therefore a threat to jobs.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown called for a probe into the finances of the Brexit Party
Getty Images

"But what it hasn't given us is the detail that I know Government departments have.

"A million medical consignments come in from Europe every day into Britain and we don't have guarantees about EpiPens, we don't have guarantees about insulin, we don't have guarantees about isotopes, we don't even have guarantees about the flu virus injections and vaccines that are coming in.

"I don't think any responsible Government should allow people to get into this position where they cannot guarantee the medical supplies that people need."

Ahead of a speech in Edinburgh, revealed he had written to Boris Johnson accusing him of "dishonest claims" that underestimate the risks of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal.

Mr Brown said: "The truth is that we are not taking back control but losing control - of medical supplies and food and energy prices.

"The worst-case scenario document downplays the risks to medical supplies, the threat to household budgets and the damage inflicted on the most vulnerable.

"We now know from Yellowhammer that no-deal Brexit is an unnecessary act of self-harm but ministers are still not telling the truth about the sheer scale of the self-inflicted wounds."

In his speech, the former Labour leader is expected to go into detail about the various risks to medical supplies, as well as claiming that sharp food and fuel price rises will "wreak havoc" with family budgets and hit the poorest hardest.

The Operation Yellowhammer report was finally released on Wednesday night after the UK Government was defeated in the House of Commons and forced to release the document, albeit a heavily redacted version.

The six-page document, dated August 2, warns of disruption at channel crossings for at least three months, an increased risk of public disorder and riots on the streets, and some shortages of fresh food.

Describing the situation as "unprecedented", Mr Brown will add: "Given the information we now have, the Prime Minister must do far more than meet his guarantee that medical supplies will be available for everyone for life-saving treatments.

"Nor can he guarantee that our food supplies - 30% of which come from mainland Europe - can come in uninterrupted without, as the Cabinet Secretary fears, pushing food prices up by 10%."

Michael Gove, the Cabinet minister with responsibility for no-deal planning, said the Government had taken "considerable steps" to prepare for a safe departure if Mr Johnson failed to get a deal and took the UK out of the EU.

On Wednesday, he said the Government would be publishing "revised assumptions ... in due course alongside a document outlining the mitigations the Government has put in place and intends to put in place".

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