UK to spend extra $2.6b on no-deal Brexit planning
Britain said it is ramping up preparations for a no-deal Brexit by spending an extra 2.1 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) to stockpile medicines, hire more border officials and fund one of the biggest peacetime advertising campaigns.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who took power last week, has pledged to leave the European Union without transitional arrangements in three months’ time unless the EU agrees to renegotiate the deal reached by his predecessor Theresa May.
In his first major policy announcement, new finance minister Sajid Javid said the outlay would allow the government to increase training for customs officials, hire more staff to deal with an expected increase in passport applications, and improve infrastructure around ports.
Javid said UK’s economy was strong enough to cope with a no-deal Brexit and rejected criticism that the money would be better spent on healthcare or education.
“A lot of the work was going on but (what) we needed to do was turbo charge it to make sure we are properly, genuinely ready,” he said.
The Labour party branded the spending an “appalling waste of taxpayers’ cash” because the majority of lawmakers in parliament had made clear their intention to block an exit without a withdrawal agreement.
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