A number of MPs have pointed out the potential danger if parliament fails to reach an agreement before the 29 March deadline
The most senior member of Britain’s police force has warned that a no deal Brexit would “potentially put the public at risk” if Britain is locked out of EU security systems.
Met Police commissioner Cressida Dick claimed on the Radio 4 Today programme that there would be risk to public safety if the UK was left without access to EU policing resources such as security databases.
She said: “The consequences are that we will have to replace – and of course if there was a no deal scenario that would be very difficult to do in short term – some of the things we currently use in terms of access to databases, the way in which we can quickly arrest and extradite people, these kind of things, we will have to replace as effectively as we can.
“That will be more costly undoubtedly, slower undoubtedly, and potentially yes put the public at risk – no doubt about that.”
The risk that withdrawing from the European Union without an agreement would pose to national security has been played down by the government, including by prime minister Theresa May. However, a number of MPs have pointed out the potential dangers if parliament fails to reach an agreement before the 29 March deadline.
Asked about police contingency plans, Dick said that the UK currently works closely with the EU on security: “If we come out without immediately obvious replacements for those instruments that will undoubtedly mean we will have to work incredibly hard on a bilateral basis with countries to try to get in place some kind of way of working together.”
She added: “We’ve set up an EU coordination unit, absolutely. That is to help local forces to understand to how to work most effectively across Europe after we exit the EU, under whatever circumstances.
“Of course, we would hope we will have as much as possible of the instruments we currently have or something very similar as quickly as possible in order to be able to keep our public safe and at the same sort of cost.”
The warning follows an announcement by defence Secretary Gavin Williamson earlier this month that over three thousand troops have been put on standby for deployment on Britain’s streets in the event of a no deal Brexit.
“What we are doing is putting contingency plans in place.”
Defence Secretary @GavinWilliamson admits 3,500 troops to be "held at readiness" for deployment on Britain’s streets in event of a no deal Brexit. pic.twitter.com/sM09w84Opl
— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) December 18, 2018
