The Conversation (0)
Andy Gregory
Aug 20, 2019
To no-one’s surprise, the government and Brexiteers alike are desperately rushing to discredit the no-deal preparations document known as Operation Yellowhammer.
The stark dossier was leaked to the Sunday Times (so much for Dominic Cummings’ airtight “reign of terror”) and reveals the extent of the government’s no-deal fears.
Despite the government’s own admission of food, fuel and medicine shortages, border checks in Ireland, and perhaps even unclean drinking water, Brexiteers have been quick to dismiss the document as “very old”, and a relic of Theresa May’s reign.
Michael Gove and James Cleverly have both claimed the leak is "out of date", and a "worst-case scenario".
Brexiteer and journalist Tom Harwood also took this line, calling it "a very old document" posing "some of the risks that might come about and the solutions as to how to avoid them".
While Operation Yellowhammer has existed in some form since at least September 2018, the leaked version is reportedly dated 1 August – a week after Boris Johnson took office.
Sunday Times journalist Grant Tucker emphatically pointed this out:
Mr Harwood responded "a week is a long time in politics", but it's not clear if he was referring to the week Mr Johnson had spent in office before 1 August, or simply wheeling out an old cliche to the letter.
He later told Indy100:
Age is relative. It was written before the 'XO' No Deal planning committee had a single meeting.
Since then that committee has met every day and made scores of decisions. The document is obviously wildly out of date.
However, some might argue that lorries, borders and regulations aren't quite so relative.
Others agreed with Mr Harwood that solutions to issues like unrest and job losses were possible.
With the government discrediting the leaked documents but refusing to reveal any updated plans, people tried hard to make sense of their bluster.