Operation Yellowhammer: UK government under pressure releases no-deal Brexit document

(Patria) – British MPs forced the government to release a document on Wednesday detailing plans for a no-deal Brexit known as 'Operation Yellowhammer'.

The five-page document outlines 'worst-case scenario' assumptions and is similar to a document that leaked in August, which the government then called 'outdated'.

The government released the document following a proposal by former public prosecutor Dominic Grieve, approved by the House of Commons on Monday evening before Parliament was suspended.

The document considers the risks of a no-deal Brexit, listing potential border delays with an estimate that 85% of trucks crossing the Channel will not be ready for the new French customs regime – a situation that could last up to three months, with intermittent disruptions for much longer, if trucks have to wait 1.5 to 2.5 days to cross the border.  

It also mentions the possibility of rising food and fuel prices, disruptions in the supply of medicines and medical supplies and equipment, and consequently the risk of public unrest and protests in British cities.

A shortage of veterinary medicines due to supply chain disruptions could lead to the spread of infectious diseases in livestock.

It also states a possible shortage of certain types of fresh food which 'will not lead to an overall food shortage in the UK, but will reduce the availability and choice of products, while prices will rise, which could harm vulnerable groups of the population', the document says.

Regarding law enforcement, the document warns of 'possible protests and counter-protests across Britain, which may require significant police resources, as well as unrest and tensions in the local community'.

It also discusses the return of some kind of hard Irish border despite the government's insistence that it will not impose checkpoints.

The government, however, refused to comply with the second part of the MPs' request and release messages sent to Prime Minister Boris Johnson by his senior advisor Dominic Cummings, as well as other advisors via WhatsApp, Facebook, and other applications, to private and business phone numbers. 

Grieve told MPs that he had information that the correspondence contained elements of 'scandal'.

After the document was released, Dominic Grieve, who initiated the exposure of the government's no-deal Brexit plan, stated that he feared 'what long-term damaging and reckless approach that consciously risks prosperity, deepens poverty, and even threatens shortages of medical supplies – can do to the population and to our party. This must stop', Grieve underlined, writes the British newspaper The Guardian.