May to warn no-deal Brexit would threaten UK

– PM is concerned disorderly departure from EU would fuel Scottish independence.

– On Thursday, Theresa May will be issuing a coded warning to Conservative leadership frontrunner Boris Johnson not to jeopardise the UK’s integrity through a no-deal Brexit, in a provocatively-timed farewell speech in Scotland.

– The prime minister’s speech comes on the eve of Tory leadership hustings in Scotland, where Mr Johnson is seen by his critics — including some in his own party — as an English nationalist whose fixation with Brexit will fuel demands for Scottish independence.

– “The prime minister has said we have to deliver a Brexit which works for all parts of the UK,” said one ally of Mrs May. “That is a point which I’m sure she will want to make again in Scotland.”

No-deal Brexit could hit Christmas supply of toys, says Sainsbury’s

– Supplies of toys and electronics for Christmas could be hit by a no-deal Brexit, the boss of Sainsbury’s has warned.

– Mike Coupe, the chief executive of the supermarket group, which also owns Argos, the UK’s biggest toy retailer, said the Brexit deadline of 31 October was “not far off the worst day possible” for retailers, who would find it difficult to stockpile goods because warehouses would already be packed ready for Christmas.

– Tesco boss, Dave Lewis has also said that planning for the new Brexit deadline is “more difficult” because the supply network will be full of Christmas stock. This would mean that there would be less capacity for stockpiling longer-life items.

No-deal Brexit plans may not avert chaos, says ex-border official

– The British official who was in charge of Brexit border plans, Karen Wheeler, says contingency plans must be stepped up immediately to be effective.

– She said the civil service had done all it could to prepare for no deal, but that might not be enough to prevent chaos at Dover or on the Irish border.

– Referring to the intense and detailed work carried out in Whitehall on contingency planning for the first scheduled Brexit day on 29 March, she said: “I think we felt we had done everything we could to mitigate as far as we could, but there were some areas of no deal where really the consequences did feel particularly difficult.”

– When asked what being ready for no deal meant, Ms Wheeler responded: “What it doesn’t mean is everything will be fine.”