Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab has issued a stark warning in the event no deal can be agreed before Britain leaves the European Union in March 2019.
When asked by ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston about the likelihood of gridlocked ports, Mr Raab cautioned “there is no doubt there will be significant risks and short-term disruption.”
“We will cater and plan for all scenarios and in the worst-case scenario, there will be some short-term disruption.”
Mr Raab says no deal is “unlikely” but is “unable to put a percentage on it.”
“I'm confident that if the ambition and the pragmatism that we've shown is matched - and I think there's every indication that it can be, and it will be, we get a deal.
But I'm not going to start - I'm not a gambling man, I'm not going to start putting odds on it.”
His comments come as the Government released another round of technical papers on the impact of a no-deal.
A deal currently relies on the EU to approving Theresa May’s divisive Chequers agreement.
Robert Peston asked Mr Raab if he could name “a single EU leader or a member of your own backbenches who positively likes the Chequers plan”.
He refused to name a backbench Westminster MP, replying “the Polish foreign minister, the Danish finance minister… Angela Merkel welcomed the Chequers proposals when they originally came out.”
As part of any deal, there is a financial settlement £39 billion agreed between Britain and the EU.
Mr Raab admitted in the event of a no-deal Brexit "obviously we wouldn't pay up the financial settlement.”
"You wouldn't in the aftermath of a no-deal scenario to allow the other side to cherry-pick the bits of the negotiation that went well for them."
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