Brexit no-deal plans only adding fuel to the chaos

The British government’s mismanagement of its own choice to leave has infected the EU and Ireland too, with contingency plans less than adequate and far from complete

Theresa May talks to UK Border Force officers at Heathrow Airport. Pic: Getty

From the start of this difficult operation, Brexit should have been treated as a ‘change management’ operation – on both sides of the Irish Sea, as both the UK and Ireland are most at risk. No large or listed organisation would consider any dramatic expansion, disposal or takeover without consulting, for a considerable period, a change management team to bring discipline to the thinking and planning.

Minimising both disruption and cost would be ...