Brexit: Government admits it has ‘run out of time’ to find ships to bring emergency supplies after no-deal

‘It would not be possible to compete procurement and make it operational for 29 March,’ senior Department for Transport official tells MPs

Officials have admitted they have “run out of time” to find ships to bring extra emergency supplies after a no-deal Brexit, following the Seaborne Freight fiasco.

No “large amount of further additional capacity” will be available across the Channel before the end of March, MPs were told – by either sea or rail.

The admission follows the embarrassment of the cancelled £13.8m contract handed to Seaborne – a firm with no ships – which has sparked calls for Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, to be sacked.

“It would not be possible to complete procurement and make it operational for 29 March,” the Department for Transport’s director general admitted.

Meg Hillier, chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is investigating the affair, said: “Just to be clear, you have run out of time.”

Later, Clare Moriarty, permanent secretary of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), denied there would be “food shortages after a no-deal Brexit” – but acknowledged “issues for geographically vulnerable communities”.

The comments come after Theresa May was criticised for claiming consultants Deloitte undertook “due diligence” on Seaborne – despite the auditor having already revealed it was unable to complete necessary tests.

The controversy dominated prime minister’s questions, as Jeremy Corbyn railed against the “utter shambles” of the government’s no-deal Brexit plans.

At the PAC hearing, Bernadette Kelly, the DfT’s permanent secretary, said it had signed pre-Christmas contracts – including with Seaborne – because of the “long lead times”.

“I do not think, at this point in time, it is likely that we will be able to secure a large amount of further government reserve capacity,” she told the committee.

“I wouldn’t want to mislead the committee into imagining there is a plan now that will lead to the government securing a very, very large amount of further additional capacity.”

When pressed, Lucy Chadwick, the director general, confirmed there were no plans for further procurements to bring supplies by either ferries or Eurotunnel.

However, she said the Department for Transport believed it might not need to replace lost capacity, because the French government was now carrying out a “serious programme of work at Calais”.

The ferry contracts were signed because of fears that Calais – the busiest Channel port – would not be ready for delays if the UK crashes out of the EU without an agreement.

Mr Grayling used emergency powers to award contracts to use other ports, which will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds.

However, he admitted the extra ferries would only deliver “around 8 per cent of normal flows across the Dover Straits”, which will be “not be sufficient to mitigate the full level of disruption possible”.

That was before the weekend cancellation when it “became clear Seaborne would not reach its contractual requirements with the government”.

In the Commons, Ms May said the ferries were needed to “guarantee that medicines, primarily, will brought into this country”, telling MPs: “We are prioritising medicines.”

A government spokesperson said it had procured a number of routes to ensure resilience”, which will be “used for priority goods, including medicines.”

They added: “We are continuing to work with key sectors to understand their capacity needs and ensure that supplies of priority goods continue in any scenario. We will continue to explore all possible options to secure additional freight capacity to ease pressure on the Dover straits in the event of a no deal Brexit, including through the port of Ramsgate.”