The paper, called "Operation Yellowhammer", is dated August 2 of this year, listing the likely consequences of a hard Brexit. The Sunday Times reported in detail on the document and its content in August.
Last week, the British Parliament forced the government to publish the paper. Secretary of State Michael Gove, who is responsible for No-Deal-Brexit planning in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's cabinet, said Wednesday that the paper was just a worst-case scenario and no predictive of likely development. It should also be updated.
Food shortages, drug shortages
According to the paper, as many as 85 percent of British trucks may not be adequately prepared for French border controls on the English Channel. Therefore, the dispatch rate could fall by 40 to 60 percent, the waiting time could be up to two and a half days. This in turn will have consequences for the supply of medicines and medical devices.
"The supply of certain fresh foods will decrease," the document said, adding: "There is a risk of hamster purchases that would result in further depletion of food supplies."
Parts of the country could also be fuel shortages.
In British waters, there is a risk of controversy with European fishermen, and there may be "an increase in public unrest" that would tie up a "substantial amount" of police forces.
Government withholds information requested by Parliament
According to Sunday Times journalist Rosamund Urwin, who leaked the documents in August, the title has since been changed. Instead of "basic scenario" it now says "planning assumptions for the worst case". The change in the title may confirm opposition supposition that the government is downplaying the potential consequences of an unregulated EU exit.
With the publications, the government remains far behind the demands of Parliament.
The deputies had on Monday, just before the beginning of a mandatory compulsory break imposed by Johnson demanded all the documents of the no-deal plans. In addition, they demanded all correspondence, including emails and brief messages from key government officials and consultants.
However, Minister of State Gove rejected the request as "inappropriate and disproportionate". The government must protect the privacy of its employees.
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