Army to ferry medicines in case of no-deal Brexit

The Sunday Times has reported that blueprints for procedures used in the case of civil emergencies have been ‘dusted down’ in preparation for a hard Brexit. In the event of an abrupt exit from the EU, British army trucks and helicopters will be used to transport medical supplies to vulnerable people outside of the southeast of England.

The revelation comes as it was announced that the NHS is preparing to stockpile drugs, while an EMA survey suggested that there were significant gaps in the pharmaceutical industry’s preparedness for the British exit from the European Union.

However while former UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, called the preparations "laughable", critics have accused the government of scaremongering as part of so called ‘Project Fear’. Nevertheless, a minister, commenting on the plans, noted that: "There is a lot of civil contingency planning around the prospect of no deal. That’s not frightening the horses, that’s just being utterly realistic."

Prime Minister Theresa May suggested last week that people "should take reassurance and comfort" from the contingency plans that have been drawn up as she said that "We're working for a good [deal] but let's prepare for every eventuality. We're going to be responsible about this, we're going to be sensible about this."  

While commentators have suggested that worst case scenario contingency plans may be a form of ‘sabre rattling’ from the British government, there is certainly potential for significant disruption of supply chains if the European Union and the British Government do not arrive at a deal.     

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