Britain could face a ‘Brexican stand-off’ as Theresa May is told to prepare for a no-deal Brexit
Senior Tories fear EU chiefs will fail to settle on a deal before Britain's two-year deadline
THERESA May was warned to prepare for a no-deal Brexit or risk economic “Armageddon”.
Senior Tories fear EU chiefs will struggle to agree a divorce settlement in the two years before the deadline for Britain to leave.
They have urged the PM to plan now to avoid possible chaos at ports, gridlocked roads and financial meltdown.
The “doomsday” scenario is spelled out in a report signed by 22 Tory MPs.
It stresses there is every chance Brexit Secretary David Davis will clinch a deal that will enable Britain to continue buying and selling goods tariff-free with Europe. But it warns the Government must prepare now for every eventuality, including walking away without a deal.
Failure to plan could lead to “serious disruption” if we are not ready on day one, the report says, with traffic delays of “biblical proportions”.
A plan to keep trade flowing post-Brexit is outlined in the report “Ready on Day One” by Dover MP Charlie Elphicke.
Mr Elphicke said: “We must put ideological discussions behind us. There are practical steps we can take now to ensure we are ready on day one to make a success of Brexit.”
The port of Dover handles £120billion of imports and exports a year.
It accounts for 40 per cent of all trade with the EU.
In his report, Mr Elphicke said there was no doubt the Government was committed to a deal.
But he said: “Two years is a very short time and it is likely that the EU will struggle to be able to move swiftly enough.
“Industry leaders have been trenchant in their warnings of the serious disruption we face if we are not ready on day one.”
The report calls for resilient roads to all Channel ports, customs systems ready to go and one border agency to replace the array of ministries and quangos.
A Eurosceptic think tank insisted Britain had a “very strong negotiating hand and shouldn’t be afraid to play it”.
Jonathan Isaby, of Brexit Central, dismissed EU tough talk as “posturing you would expect at the opening of a negotiation”.