Sputnik spoke with journalist Marcus Stead the possible consequences of no-deal Brexit and the Northern Ireland border issue.
Sputnik: What do you think of claims of the stockpiling of supplies and businesses moving abroad in preparation for a no deal Brexit? Is project fear in full swing?
Marcus Stead: This is very much project fear. We had the bosses at some of the best known UK supermarkets signing a warning letter of the supposed dangers of a no deal Brexit, but what was interesting was that there were some who did not sign that letter.
Similarly, Morrison's boss David Potts also did not sign the letter, and he's made several media appearances in recent times to alleviate fears; the point being, I could not think of a single item of food that could not be sourced from outside the EU, if push came to shove.
There may well be a certain level of disruption in the supply chains the weeks immediately following a no deal Brexit; but the market would soon correct that.
No deal Brexit was never my preferred option, but in reality, a no deal would mean lots of little side deals, to keep various aspects of life in this country functioning. For example; the Grand National horse race is due to take place a few days after Brexit; the agreement that allows the racehorses to come in and out of the country is not in place.
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A very large number of Formula One motor racing teams are based in the UK, and the legal means by which they get their vehicles in and out of the country throughout the season, would cease to exist, and these are serious matters.
Preparations only even began for this in December last year; so why didn't preparations begin in the summer of 2016, shortly after the vote to leave? The lack of preparation from the UK government and the civil service has been utterly appalling.
Now business can handle bad news; a lot better than it can handle uncertainty and that's the big point.
Sputnik: Is a no deal now inevitable?
It's an issue, it's an important issue; but even if that could be resolved, it won't be enough to get the deal through the House of Commons.
There are things in that agreement that have barely been mentioned at all by the mainstream media. For example; Article 101 states that the UK agrees not to prosecute EU employees who are or might be deemed criminals in the future.
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Article 104 states that EU employees are to be immune from UK tax laws, the UK must promise never to tax former EU officials based in the UK, such as former EU commissioners Peter Mandelson and Neil Kinnock.
The backstop is not the only issue preventing this from getting through Parliament and one myth that's regularly banded about, is that a hard border would not be possible because of the Good Friday agreement.
In fact; at no point in that document does it say that there cannot be a hard border, but that's not to say that a hard border is desirable; it's not.
We were told that the backstop was only ever intended to be an insurance policy, unless technology could be found for customs checks, yet here were are less than two months before the UK is due to leave the EU, and where on Earth is this technology?
If the app couldn't be created; all the UK government would need to say is look, we have no intention of putting up a hard border, however from time to time vehicles will be pulled over after they cross the border, spot checks will be done, and anybody found to be smuggling, will have their vehicle crashed. People would soon learn their lesson based on that.
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The issue is being weaponised by the remain supporting politicians, who are playing on the fears of those who dread a return to the bad old days in Northern Ireland, and it's so important that the whole of the UK including Northern Ireland, leave the customs union, because the point is that as long as we remain in the customs union; it will not be possible to make trade deals with the wider world, which is one of the big advantages of Brexit.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of Marcus Stead and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Sputnik.
