NOT Birdwatching
No, this is not a bird watching post but an article on 3 codenames for secret government reports on Brexit.
YellowHammer
What is Yellowhammer? A Yellowhammer is a small bird with a song that is said to sound like “A little bit of bread and no cheese” and the term is now being used as a code name by government for work relating to a no-deal scenario for Brexit. It was in August 2019 that The Sunday Times reported on a document, code named Yellowhammer, that provided a realistic assessment of severe problems if the UK left the EU without a deal, including:
- a three-month “meltdown” at channel ports with major hold-ups;
- HGV delays at Dover between one-and-a-half and two-and-a-half days;
- a hard Irish border;
- shortages of some foods and medicine import delays;
- possible public disorder increase with protests and counter-protests; and,
- a rise in community tensions.
Scaremongering
The Government has dismissed the document as “scaremongering”, and a “worst-case scenario”, with extra funding being made available to mitigate any problems.
Irresponsible Punishment
The Opposition Leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said the document showed a no-deal Brexit would punish those who could least afford it and must be stopped, while Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said it was completely irresponsible for Government to have tried to ignore the warnings. The document was published because Parliament required this. Large parts of the document were still hidden.
Black Swan Kingfisher
There are rumours that two other secret documents, Black Swan and Kingfisher, exist, with Kingfisher looking at supporting British businesses suffering under a no-deal Brexit, and Black Swan, preparing for disaster!