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Friday 09 August 2019 2:34 pm  |  Updated:  Friday 09 August 2019 5:07 pm

Boris Johnson warns civil servants against ‘complacency’ over no-deal Brexit

By: Joe Curtis

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Sterling continues to tumble as PM pledges Brexit ‘no matter what’
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - JULY 26: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks during his visit to the West Midlands Police Learning & Development Centre on July 26, 2019 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Toby Melville - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Boris Johnson has warned the civil service that there are “no grounds for complacency” as the UK rushes to prepare itself for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.

The Prime Minister sent a letter to all civil servants today telling them that “preparing urgently and rapidly for the possibility of an exit without a deal will be my top priority”.

Reiterating his commitment to leaving the bloc on 31 October with or without a Brexit deal, Johnson added: “I would very much prefer to leave with a deal – one that must abolish the anti-democratic Irish backstop, which has unacceptable consequences for our country.

“But I recognise this may not happen. That is why preparing urgently and rapidly for the possibility of an exit without a deal will be my top priority, and it will be the top priority for the Civil Service too.”

Main image credit: Getty

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Burnham is wrong. Devolution will only grow Whitehall

Whitehall SW1 street sign in the City of Westminster, London, mounted on a white stone wall with decorative trim.

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