Labour MP Alex Sobel said: “This just goes to show how unprepared the Government are for a no-deal Brexit. Putting the Army on standby is an admission of complete failure.”
If the negotiations fail, the pro-EU establishment would likely start riots. Tory MP Dominic Greave – a Remainer – has openly warned: “We will be in a state of emergency – basic services we take for granted might not be available.”
A “well-placed Army source” told The Sunday Times that officers are currently involved in no-deal Brexit preparations to stop an uprising.
“They are focusing on how the military could help the police keep public order and on how medicines would be delivered to hospitals,” the newspaper reported.
A leaked document from the National Police Co-ordination Centre warned that the “necessity to call on military assistance is a real possibility” if Britain crashes out of the EU.
“There is an expectation that crime not directly connected to Brexit will rise, as acquisitive crime will habitually rise in the event of restricted availability of goods,” the document stated.
The threat is certainly real. Doug Gurr, head of Amazon UK, has confirmed that major unrest is now part of their contingency planning, The Independent reported.
Some 20 officers were ordered last week to intensify no-deal Brexit planning, according to a well-placed army source after the EU rejected the British proposal whereby the UK would retain its position in the Common Market but abandon the supranational aspects of the Maastricht Treaty.
Fearful that Brexit may have a contagion effect, the EU has threatened to reactivate the war of national liberation in Northern Ireland if the United Kingdom does not accept a deal that would dis-incentivize other other EU members from leaving.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), a unionist political party in Northern Ireland which sees itself as defending Britishness and Ulster Protestant culture against Irish nationalism, has supported the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
The Irish Times has warned that Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, will see major unrest in case of a no-deal Brexit. Also, “intermittent riots” by truck drivers will kick off at Dover if border checks are put in place.
DUP MP Lord McCrea used his maiden speech in the House of Lords this week to tear apart Theresa May’s proposed EU deal, arguing that it “threatens the integrity” of the UK.
“We are proud to be a part of the United Kingdom but I believe the deal presented by the Prime Minister threatens the integrity of that Union.
“If these proposals were implemented, we in Northern Ireland would have to take rules from a body without any representation, governed by laws which even if they damaged our economy could not be changed and which we have no say in.
“These proposals drive a coach and horses through the devolution settlement and our constitutional practices to suit the European Union.”
He also insisted that the government claim of a United Kingdom customs solution is simply untrue: “If Great Britain were to leave then the EU has the right to impose a customs border.
“Northern Ireland is a hostage to prevent Great Britain leaving or the sacrifice if it does.”
Both Leavers and Remainers are under great pressure to complete the negotiations in time for Sunday’s EU summit, where the Brexit deal is due to be sealed between the UK and the 27 member states.
But May will have to push the deal through parliament at a time when members of her own party have said they cannot support it. The Sun reported that 42 Tories on Monday wanted May to go.
One Tory lawmaker told Bloomberg it was like the old movie Jaws with sharks circling under the water, because once the number reaches 48, May will be finished.
