No-deal Brexit will cause anarchy in UK, contingency plan Operation.........

London: If the UK opts for ‘No-deal Brexit’ to exit the European Union, on October 31, anarchy like situation may prevail for a few months, a government report made a startling revelation. The media exposed the contingency plan ‘Operation Yellowhammer’ prepared by the Boris Johnson government. The plan expresses fears that the United Kingdom will have to go through a shortage of food, fuel, essential medicines and also will face unemployment and loud protests.

The British daily newspapers ‘The Sunday Times’ and ‘The Guardian’ have exposed the emergency plan of the government. This week, the British Prime Minister will be meeting the heads of state of France and Germany during G7. Against this background, leak of the secret government dossier regarding Brexit has caused a stir. Johnson had previously accused that such plans were being prepared to scare people supporting Brexit. However, now Prime Minister Johnson is cornered, as his government has chalked out a report pointing to anarchy like situation post Brexit.

After taking over as the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson had clarified that ‘No Deal Brexit’ option will be the priority for his government. Therefore ‘No Deal Brexit’ is at the centre of all the activities in the United Kingdom, since the last few days. As per this option, the United Kingdom will leave the European Union without any agreement. Therefore, the United Kingdom will return to the same status, as it was, before joining the European Union and Ireland, Single Market and Customs Union, will be the crucial factors for consideration.

As the United Kingdom and Ireland are both parts of the European Union, there are no check posts or any other security arrangements along their borders. But if the United Kingdom exercised the ‘No Deal Brexit’ option, the check posts and security arrangements will become necessary, disrupting the business between the two countries. If the United Kingdom exits the Single Market arrangement with the European Union, the British companies will have to bear significant losses while dealing with Europe. Also, exiting from the ‘Customs Union’ will mean that the investments in the United Kingdom and the British investments in the European countries will be under threat.

Though Prime Minister Johnson is aware of all the factors, yet he is firm on the ‘No Deal’ option. Furthermore, the leak of ‘Operation Yellowhammer’ shows that he has prepared a separate plan to handle the emergency arising owing to the ‘No Deal Brexit’. Only last month, Prime Minister Johnson announced the War Cabinet and an additional provision of GBP 1 billion for implementation of the ‘No Deal’. It seems that at the same time, the government has started preparations for the extreme situations that could arise following ‘No Deal Brexit’.

As per the Operation Yellowhammer revealed by the British media, there will be a severe shortage of food, essential and emergency medicines and fuel. It is claimed that there will be serpentine queues of ships and vehicles at the ports and border posts respectively. The chaos, thus caused, could severely hit the people of the United Kingdom. As a result, massive protests would spark in various parts of the United Kingdom, and law and order would be under threat, are the fears expressed in Operation Yellowhammer. At the same time, the plan mentions the deployment of 5,000 soldiers before and after October 31.