FILE PHOTO – Pharmaceutical tablets and capsules in foil strips are arranged on a table in this picture illustration taken in Ljubljana September 18, 2013. REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain is working on plans to use aeroplanes and fast-track trucks to ensure the continued supply of medicines if it leaves the European Union without a deal in March.
“We are working on ensuring that we have aviation capacity,” Health Minister Matt Hancock told BBC radio on Friday.
“If there is a serious disruption at the border we will have prioritisation and prioritisation will include medicines and medical devices.”
He also said that Britain would have a stockpile of those drugs that can be stockpiled.
Asked if Prime Minister Theresa May should delay a key vote on Brexit which will take place in parliament on Tuesday, and which she looks set to lose, Hancock said: “No”.
Reports have suggested that some ministers have urged May to delay the vote to try to avoid what could be a game-changing defeat. [nL8N1YB2OE]
Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Guy Faulconbridge