THOUSANDS of civil servants have been told by the UK Government to cease preparing for a no-deal Brexit – despite an estimated £1.5bn having already been spent on the preparations.
The decision was made by the Cabinet Office during a meeting on Thursday morning and follows the announcement that Brexit will be delayed until October 31.
READ MORE: Tories call for May to go as Brexit delayed until Halloween
Of the 6000 civil servants working on no-deal preparations, approximately 4500 were newly recruited for the specifically for the project, with the remainder now returning to other departments. It is unclear what role the new recruits will now serve.
In total, more than 16,000 civil servants have been involved in Brexit planning.
A leaked letter, obtained by Sky News, read: “In common with the rest of government, we have stood down our no-deal operational planning with immediate effect. This morning, at a meeting chaired by the cabinet secretary, we agreed that the objective is to ensure we wind down our no-deal planning in a careful, considered and orderly way,” said a letter leaked to Sky News.”
Sky Sources say civil servants have been told to stand down no deal Brexit operational planning with immediate effect
— Sky News Breaking (@SkyNewsBreak) April 11, 2019
READ MORE: Theresa May tells MPs it's there 'national duty' to pass deal
Politicians and senior civil servants from the Home Office and departments of health, transport, environment are now in discussions on what to do with the newly recruited civil servants brought in to assist with Brexit planning.
The National Audit Office revealed in March that £1.5bn had been allocated across Whitehall for no-deal contingencies under an umbrella Operation Yellowhammer project.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel