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The UK’s only nation to border the EU was left to prepare for Brexit with no ministers, says Denis McMahon. / Preparing for a no-deal Brexit forced the Northern Ireland government to “cannibalise” departments, a senior civil servant has said.
Welsh health officials have said that preparations for a pandemic stalled in the run-up to coronavirus and that systems in place were too complex, as bereaved families said their loved ones “didn’t stand a chance”.
Record View says the blame lies with Boris Johnson’s government, which was determined to push through Brexit whatever the cost.
The former first minister says resources were diverted away from Covid planning in order to prepare for potential no-deal Brexit.
Nicola Sturgeon has blamed no-deal Brexit planning for diverting resources away from emergency planning at the Covid-19 public inquiry. / The former First Minister of Scotland said "every part of our work was impacted" by preparing for a potential no-deal exit from the EU.
Boris Johnson infamously said 'Brexit saved lives' earlier this year. Judging by these comments, it did precisely the opposite.
The government's preparation for a no-deal Brexit sometimes "took precedent" over planning for a pandemic, the UK Covid-19 public Inquiry has heard. / Ministers were aware in 2016 that "even a moderate pandemic would overrun" the "fragmented" pandemic preparedness system within the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), newly disclosed documents revealed on Monday.
The three remaining arguments for Brexit
26/06/2023
And why none of them actually stack up.
Witnesses have criticised the British government’s pandemic preparations as part of a public inquiry into the country’s response to Covid-19.
Brexit had a bigger effect on pandemic contingency planning arrangements in Northern Ireland than elsewhere in the UK, the Covid inquiry has heard.
Johnson condemned for ‘reprehensible decision’ to prioritise Brexit over pandemic response
13/06/2023
Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP, has criticised Boris Johnson’s “reprehensible decision” to prioritise Brexit over pandemic preparations.
A government focus on Brexit “crowded out and prevented” the work that was needed to prepare for the next pandemic, the lead lawyer to the Covid-19 Inquiry has suggested.
No-deal Brexit planning may have 'crowded out' work on the UK's resilience preparedness for a pandemic
13/06/2023
The independent Covid inquiry has heard that Brexit may have interfered with and ‘crowded out’ the UK’s capacity to prepare for a pandemic.
Preparedness and vaccine rollout outside of EU under scrutiny as inquiry kicks off.
Experts insist successes of Brussels’ €95bn programme could never be replicated by a UK-only substitute.
The UK is on course to be the world's worst-performing major economy this year, according to updated predictions from the International Monetary Fund - which puts at least part of the blame on higher taxes and interest rates.
After Brexit, some anticipated a shift in European sentiment and believed other members would follow the UK's lead. But 6 years on, the bloc seems more cohesive than ever and optimism is high. So why is this? And how did the EU become stronger than ever?
When the prime minister was first informed, his response was: “You keep an eye on it. It will probably go away.”
Brexit crippled the UK economy – Liz Truss just made it worse | Economics | New Statesman [5 mins]
22/10/2022
Economist Duncan Weldon and the New Statesman’s polling expert explore how Brexit and austerity have damaged the UK economy and set the stage for Liz Truss’s “mismanagement.”
A weaker than expected recovery from the coronavirus pandemic has left the UK as the only G7 country with a smaller economy than in early 2020, according to official figures likely to further undermine the government’s tax-cutting measures.
As Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares to depart Downing Street, tossed from office by his own party, his legacy — the opening lines of his eventual obituary — will call him the man who “got Brexit done.” / So how is that going? What can be said about the post-Brexit Britain that Johnson is leaving behind?
Sylvie Bermann, former French ambassador, puts PM’s handling of pandemic alongside Donald Trump’s.
James Grace addresses Boris Johnson’s falsehoods about the impact of the EU on the speed of our jabs.
Rees-Mogg’s efforts to reap economic benefits from Brexit has come up woefully short.
The Spanish authorities announced last week that the country would no longer apply COVID-19 entry rules for travellers from the European Union/Schengen Area but did not make any exemptions for those travelling from the United Kingdom.