Tory MP admits there could be Brexit food shortages in UK

Damian Green leaves 10 Downing Street - Credit: PA

A Tory MP has admitted there could be Brexit food shortages after the Brexit transition period ends on December 31 given many lorry drivers plan to “give Britain a miss” in January and February.

Former Conservative minister Damian Green made the claim as he discussed the impact of Brexit on his Ashford constituency in Kent, including traffic issues, and beyond.

Green told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend: “A lot of lorry drivers are saying they’ll just give Britain a miss for the first couple of months of next year.

“That could lead to a threat of shortages of parts for manufacturing and even possibly of food and so on, so we’ll have to see what many thousands of individuals take as individual decisions in the first couple of weeks next year.”

Environment secretary George Eustice has acknowledged there will be “some impact” on food prices if the UK fails to get a trade deal with the EU.

“There will be some impact on prices but the analysis that has been done by some of the economic modellers is that it is quite modest – less than 2% as a result of tariffs,” he told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show.

“It would be higher on some things such as beef and pork but those make up a relatively small proportion of the overall family shop,” he added.

Conservative former minister Theresa Villiers said the government will need to look to “provide appropriate support” to firms “hit especially hard” by a no-deal scenario.

She told Radio 4: “There is a chance of a deal, but what mustn’t happen is if we end up with a deal that ties us into the EU’s laws and court and prevent us from taking back control over our laws and our ability to regulate our own economy.”