Army draws up plans to ‘put troops on UK streets in case of no-deal Brexit’
The army is working on plans to put troops on the streets of the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit, it has been reported.
Operation Temperer, which has already been used in the wake of terror attacks on British soil, could be enacted if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal.
The Sunday Times reported that a team of army planners is in the middle of drawing up emergency measures to deploy soldiers to “respond to any chaos” caused by a no-deal Brexit.
Quoting a source, it said about 20 officers who oversee Operation Temperer were tasked last week to begin no-deal Brexit planning.
In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the army would help the police keep public order and deliver medicines to hospitals, the Sunday Times said.
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The team of planners are based at the army’s headquarters in Andover, Hampshire, and will also strategise how troops can help ease traffic flow in Kent, potentially by creating a lorry park in Folkestone near an army training centre.
Last week, Chief of Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter told the Andrew Marr show: “We make sensible contingency plans for all sort of eventualities whether it’s a terrorist attack, a tanker driver dispute or industrial action.
“At this stage I think people are confident there will be a deal.
“If there’s not one, we stand ready to help in any way we can.”
When asked about the supply of medicines in a no-deal Brexit, he said: “We’re involved in thinking hard about what it might involve.
“We’ve not been asked to do anything specifically at this stage.”
The army has about 1,200 troops on standby who can respond to a given situation within 24 hours. Another 10,000 military personnel are able to help with an emergency at short notice.
Operation Temperer has already been put into force on two occasions.
It was activated in May 2017 in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing in which 22 people were killed by a suicide bomber.
The operation was activated again in September 2017 after the Parsons Green Tube bombing in London, in which 30 people were injured.
