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Boris Johnson flew into a growing Brexit storm today as the Government braced Britain for a no-deal.
The Prime Minister arrived in Scotland to try to quell fears that such an abrupt exit from the European Union could imperil the union of the United Kingdom.
In London, the Brexit “war Cabinet” was meeting for the first time this afternoon, chaired by Michael Gove who is overseeing no-deal preparations.
Before the meeting, he said: “There won’t be any delays — we are determined to ensure that we leave on October 31. It is my job to make sure that the country is ready.”
Amid the growing no-deal talk, the pound fell to its lowest level in more than two years, worth €1.10 or slightly more than $1.23 at midday — a blow for the millions who are heading off on summer holidays in coming weeks.
The Government still wants a deal but No 10 insisted that EU leaders should signal they are willing to re-open the “divorce” agreement to kick-start fresh talks.
The Prime Minister’s official spokeswoman said: “The PM has been setting out to European leaders … that the withdrawal agreement with the backstop has not been able to pass Parliament on the three occasions … therefore it needs to change. The Prime Minister would be happy to sit down when that position changes.”
But as Government stepped up its no-deal strategy amid the political deadlock with Brussels:
A leading business chief warned that trying to get ready for a no-deal was like “driving towards a wall at 100mph and preparing for it by fastening your seatbelt”.
Ahead of meeting Mr Johnson in Edinburgh, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The people of Scotland did not vote for this Tory Government, they didn’t vote for this new Prime Minister, they didn’t vote for Brexit and they certainly didn’t vote for a catastrophic no-deal Brexit.”
As of this morning, Mr Johnson was yet to speak to Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar since becoming PM.
International trade minister Conor Burns said no deal was now a “very serious possibility”, despite Mr Johnson saying during the Tory leadership contest that he believed it was a “million-to-one against” such an outcome.
Dominic Raab refused to rule out that some form of direct rule may be needed in Northern Ireland if there is no Brexit agreement.
The owner of Vauxhall warned that the car giant will cease production at its Cheshire factory if Brexit makes it unprofitable.
Mr Johnson was today visiting HM Naval Base Clyde to announce a £300 million funding pot for communities in the devolved nations, and was meeting Ms Sturgeon and Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, who has also warned that she is against a no-deal.
Scottish finance secretary Derek Mackay stressed no deal could lead to a recession.
Chancellor Sajid Javid was “urgently identifying” where more funds might need to be spent on no-deal preparations.
Foreign Secretary Mr Raab vowed that ministers would provide “finality” on Brexit and also appeared to try to start shifting the blame, if there is no deal, onto “stubborn” Brussels.
He stressed that people wanted “reasurrance” that Brexit would happen by October 31, which was the “massive trust issue”.
“Yes, we will keep straining every sinew if there is a deal to be done but the EU will need to move and if they don’t, it’s incredibly important that we are ready for all eventualities which is why we are turbo-charging preparations,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Mr Raab said the EU had so far taken a “series of fairly stubborn positions” with its refusal to re-open the withdrawal agreement and insistence that any changes to the Northern Ireland border “backstop” had to be in the future political declaration.
“If they stick to that line, the thing that has changed is that they are not willing to move at all, then we must be prepared to give the country the finality that it needs by preparing both businesses but also people more broadly,” he added.
Mr Raab said he would meet fellow foreign ministers next month but it was not yet clear if Mr Johnson would be going to the Continent for talks with other EU leaders in coming weeks.
Paul Drechsler, chairman of London First, warned: “Preparing for a no-deal Brexit is like driving towards a wall at 100mph and preparing for it by fastening your seatbelt.”
