Government plan to fly in medicines in case of no deal Brexit revealed

Matt Hancock has revealed plans to fly in medicines to treat millions of patients in the event of a no-deal Brexit .

The Health Secretary’s disclosure underlined how serious crashing out of the EU without an agreement could be.

He revealed how officials are drawing up plans to import lifesaving drugs on planes in case blocked ports mean they can no longer be shipped in to the UK.

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw raised concerns today at the Health Committee about the supply of medicines and drugs to millions of Brits in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "The first and most important thing to say is that we are seeking to avoid a no deal Brexit, I am confident we will avoid a no deal Brexit and I don’t want it to happen.

"But any responsible government has to prepare for a number of oytcomes, including no deal.

"Since I’ve arrived in this department I’ve asked for this work to accelerate and I’ve met with industry leaders to discuss it.

"We’re working right across government to ensure that the health sector and industry are prepared and that people’s health will be safeguarded in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

"And this includes the chain of medical supplies, vaccines, medical devices, and I’ve asked the department to work up options for stockpiling by industry.

"We’re working with industry to prepare for the potential need for stockpiling in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

"This is exactly the type of contingency planing you would expect us to be doing."

Mr Hancock said he was currently "assessing" how many months worth of medicines needed to be stockpiled.

He added: "We’re also focussing on the importance of a continuous supply of medicines that have a short shelf-life, some of the medicines that are most difficult to provide in a no deal scenario, where there is difficult access through ports, will need to be flown in, for instance."

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