Babak Belurs

Minggu, 13 Desember 2020

Panic-buyers hit the supermarkets to stockpile food amid No Deal Brexit fears - The Sun

PANIC buyers have hit the supermarkets to stockpile food amid fears of a No Deal Brexit.

The UK and the EU today vowed to continue negotiations - but some nervous shoppers were seen leaving Costco with huge hauls of loo roll, beer and baguettes.

⚠️ Read our Brexit live blog for the latest news & updates

A shopper pushes a huge haul of supplies outside Costco in Thurrock, EssexCredit: Gary Stone - The Sun

Long queues were seen forming outside the store as Brits panicked over a possible no deal BrexitCredit: Gary Stone - The Sun

One shopper was seen with a trolley full to the brim with cerealCredit: Gary Stone - The Sun

Two Brits stocked up on beer ahead of the festive periodCredit: Gary Stone - The Sun

Huge queues were seen outside Costco in Thurrock, Essex, as Brits scrambled to get supplies in.

One shopper was pictured with a huge haul of toilet roll, which was popular with panic buyers during the first coronavirus lockdown.

Others were seen with trolleys full to the brim with beer, cereal and other essentials.

It comes after ministers told supermarkets to begin stockpiling food and other goods ahead of a possible No Deal Brexit.

Boris Johnson today declared the UK will not be locked in an EU "orbit" as Brexit showdown talks continue.

Earlier this week, the PM warned that it’s “very, very likely” there won’t be agreement - prompting fears in Government about panic buying.

One shopper was pictured with a huge haul of toilet roll, which was popular with panic buyers during the first coronavirus lockdownCredit: Gary Stone - The Sun

Fears have been raised about Covid-style panic buyingCredit: Alamy Live News

Empty shelves can be seen in a Sainsbury's store in Cobham, Surrey just before the first coronavirus lockdown in March

Long queues of lorries have already been building up on either side of the Channel as companies begin stockpiling goods ahead of the UK leaving the single market on January 1.

Ten-mile long queues were forming in Calais on Saturday while the A20 in Kent saw lorries backed up to three miles.

Now with fears of panic buying mounting, ministers have told supermarkets to begin stock piling, The Sunday Times reports.

“There was a conversation a week ago when ministers said prepare for no-deal,” the consultant said.

“This weekend the message is that it’s no-deal. Supermarkets and ministers are hugely worried about panic buying.

"They saw what happened over Covid when people started hoarding toilet rolls and know how quickly it can go wrong.

“That will be nothing compared to what will happen. Meat supplies will be fine and fruit comes from South America but there are likely to be shortages of vegetables for three months.”

It comes after supermarkets already introduced rationing this year amid panic-buying prompted by the coronavirus lockdown.

In March, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda set a limit of three for any item and two for essential products, such as toilet roll and handwash.

Retailers were forced to act after empty shelves for loo rolls, pasta and hand wash extended to fresh produce, bread, meat plus lower levels of cereals.

DEAL HOPES

But there are hopes that a deal could still be struck after Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen pledged to continue talks.

The pair today released a joint statement confirming they will continue their discussions in a positive show of unity.

They said: “We had a useful phone call this morning. We discussed the major unresolved topics.

“Our negotiating teams have been working day and night over recent days.

“And despite the exhaustion after almost a year of negotiations, despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over we think it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile.

“We have accordingly mandated our negotiators to continue the talks and to see whether an agreement can even at this late stage be reached.”

Lorries stuck in long queues at DoverCredit: EPA

Queues have been building throughout the night through yesterday

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab today said the UK had worked "very hard" at a technical level during the recent negotiations in Brussels - but argued that there needed to be political "willing" to secure a trade deal.

He told Sky News' Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: "I called in to check in with our team in Brussels, they've worked incredibly hard.

"You remember the PM has made clear we want to leave no stone unturned, so we've been at it very hard at the working technical level, with all the usual jousting of positions

"But what really matters is what the EU is willing at a political level to commit to."

The Foreign secretary added that two vital issues remained at stake in the negotiations - fisheries and the 'level playing field'.

'DEADLINE DAY'

It comes as post-Brexit trade talks reached their final day as the two sides continue to try and hammer out an agreement.

The outlook after discussions on Saturday was described as "very difficult" but officials said the Prime Minister is determined to explore every option to secure a free trade agreement.

A Government source said: "The Prime Minister will leave no stone unturned in this process, but he is absolutely clear: any agreement must be fair and respect the fundamental position that the UK will be a sovereign nation in three weeks' time."

After failing to reach a deal after a face-to-face meeting in Brussels earlier this week, Mr Johnson and EU chief Ursula Von Der Leyen decided to push their negotiating teams to continue to work up until this evening.

But despite the ongoing talks, government sources reportedly put the chances of Britain leaving without a deal at 80 per cent, the Mail on Sunday reported.

A source said German Chancellor Angela Merkel was "determined to make Britain crawl across broken glass" rather than reach any compromise.

Boris Johnson spoke to EU chief Ursula von der Leyen earlier this week in a bid to break the deadlockCredit: AP:Associated Press

It comes amid warnings that national security could be at risk from a No Deal Brexit.

According to Max-Peter Ratzel – who headed Europol – the UK should be “very worried” at the prospect of failing to reach an agreement with the EU.

Britain will automatically leave Europol on 1 January 2021 and already UK police chiefs have expressed fears that a No Deal Brexit will harm security.

An extra 900 border officers will be stationed in the key Channel port of Dover to ensure food, medicine and other vital supplies are not disrupted.

And Royal Navy gunboats are on standby to guard British waters from EU trawlers entering UK coastal waters after December 31, when transitional arrangements end.

'10-MILE LORRY QUEUES'

Meanwhile, lorries have been caught up in 10-mile monster queues as their drivers try to get essential goods into the UK before the Brexit deadline.

If there is a No Deal Brexit, companies face the prospect of tariffs being slapped on goods and customs checks leading to long delays.

According to sources close to the president of the Hauts-de-France region, home to Calais, there have been 50 per cent more lorries on the roads there in the past three weeks.

“November and December are always busy months, but extreme stockpiling because businesses are trying to get goods into the UK before 1 January is the main cause,” the source told the Guardian.

French police are delaying hundreds of trucks at the roadside to cope with the soaring traffic flow.

Sebastien Rivera, a top regional official for the National Road Transport Federation, an industry group that represents some 350 companies that send their goods to the UK blasted the situation as "catastrophic".

Christmas presents ‘delayed until EASTER’ as 24-hour Dover queues spark fears for PS5s, AirPods and gadgets

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2020-12-13 15:30:00Z
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Brexit trade talks: UK and EU to 'go the extra mile' in effort to agree deal - BBC News

The UK and EU have agreed to carry on post-Brexit trade talks after a call between leaders earlier on Sunday.

In a joint statement, Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was "responsible at this point to go the extra mile".

The pair discussed "major unresolved topics" during their call.

The two sides had said Sunday was the deadline for a decision on whether to continue with talks, with the UK set to leave EU rules at the end of the month.

The leaders agreed to tell negotiators to carry on talks in Brussels "to see whether an agreement can even at this late stage be reached".

They did not say how long these latest talks would continue, but the ultimate deadline is 31 December, and time must be allowed for the UK and European Parliaments to vote on any deal that emerges before then.

Mrs von der Leyen said Sunday's call with Mr Johnson had been "constructive and useful".

But Mr Johnson repeated his warning from earlier in the week that a no deal scenario was "most likely".

The UK and EU have been carrying out negotiations for a post-Brexit trade deal since March and are attempting to secure one before the so-called transition period end on 31 December - when the two sides would move to trading on World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

Without a trade deal, tariffs - charges on goods being bought and sold between the two sides - could be introduced and, in turn, prices on certain products may go up.

Reading out the joint statement, Mrs von der Leyen said: "Despite the exhaustion after almost a year of negotiations, despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over, we think it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile."

Mr Johnson later said "where there is life, there is hope", and that the UK "certainly won't be walking away from the talks".

But he added: "I've got to repeat the most likely thing now is of course that we have to get ready for WTO terms.

"As far as I can see, there are some serious and very difficult issues that currently separate the UK from EU and the best thing to do now for everybody… [is to] get ready to trade on WTO terms."

Labour's Rachel Reeves welcomed the continuation of the talks and said the worst outcome would be to "crash out with no deal whatsoever on 1 January".

She added: "I hope that they [the talks] will swiftly conclude, but I also hope on behalf of all British businesses and workers, and our security as well, that the government deliver the promise they made to the British people and come back with a deal."

The basics

Brexit happened but rules didn't change at once: The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020, but leaders needed time to negotiate a deal for life afterwards - they got 11 months.
Talks are happening: The UK and the EU have until 31 December 2020 to agree a trade deal as well as other things, such as fishing rights.
If there is no deal: Border checks and taxes will be introduced for goods travelling between the UK and the EU. But deal or no deal, we will still see changes.

What happens next with Brexit?

Talks will now continue in Brussels, with a focus expected on how close the UK should stick to EU economic rules in the future.

The EU is determined to prevent the UK from gaining what it sees as an unfair advantage of having tariff-free access to its markets - not paying taxes on goods being bought and sold - while setting its own standards on products, employment rights and business subsidies.

The EU is reported to have dropped the idea of a formal mechanism to ensure both sides keep up with each other's standards and is now prepared to accept UK divergence - provided there are safeguards to prevent unfair competition.

Fishing rights is another major area of disagreement, with the EU warning that without access to UK waters for EU fleets, UK fishermen will no longer get special access to EU markets to sell their goods.

But the UK argues that what goes on in its own waters, and its wider business rules, should be under its control as a sovereign country.

Business lobby group the CBI said the continuation of talks "gives us hope", and that a deal was "both essential and possible" for the UK economy.

Analysis box by Laura Kuenssberg, political editor

When is a deadline not a deadline? When it's anything to do with Brexit, perhaps.

Both sides in this long, long process, have agreed to go on rather than pull the plug.

The circle around the talks is extremely tight so it is very hard to know precisely what is going on. It is possible that both sides are dangling concessions.

But there is the sense now that the ground has shifted enough to make the chance of a deal worth pursuing.

The political imperatives to make this happen are so strong that even tricky issues at this late stage can still potentially be fudged.

It's far from certain that the talks will end in agreement, but the chances of resolution are once again on the rise.