No-deal Brexit ferries contracted by Chris Grayling will run on March 29 even if Britain is still a member of the EU – unless MPs approve Theresa May’s deal.
The £90m-worth of contracts with DFDS and Brittany Ferries were brokered by the transport secretary to ensure critical medical and food supplies could be brought into Britain if a no-deal Brexit put too much pressure on the Dover-Calais crossing.
But despite the prime minister now seeking a minimum three-month delay to Brexit, they could still run on the previously planned exit day of March 29 – when Britain is likely to still be a member of the EU.
The only way of getting out of the contracts is through a £56 million break clause, which a Department for Transport source said would only be paid if May’s deal passes before March 29, and amounted to “the cost of ensuring no-deal is on the table”.
If May’s deal does not pass after a third Commons vote and she follows through on a promise to seek a longer Article 50 extension, the ferries will still run as, the threat of no-deal will remain.
“They will definitely run – and we’ll sell tickets for them – but as we’ll still be in the EU the demand will be much lower,” the source said.
Labour said it was “shocking” that Grayling had failed to include a clause in the contracts which could delay the start date.
But the DfT insider said this would have been impossible, as ferry infrastructure has to be ready for March 29 as long as there is a risk of the UK leaving then.
However, shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald accused Grayling of incompetence after having to agree a £33m legal payout to Eurotunnel over the process for awarding the contracts, and following the collapse of a third ferry deal involving Seaborne Freight – a company which had no ships.
McDonald said: “It is difficult to imagine how no deal preparations could have been handled worse. Chris Grayling bypassed ordinary procurement rules to award these contracts, one of which has already been cancelled at significant cost to the taxpayer.
“The entire Brexit process has been characterised by uncertainty, so it is shocking that the government failed to include a provision to delay the start date in these contracts.
“Almost every decision Chris Grayling makes throws our transport networks into chaos and squanders huge amounts public money.
“He is deeply incompetent and causes damage to the UK each day he remains in post.”
But the DfT source hit back: “We knew from the start there was a possibility of it being delayed, there was always a possibility March 29 would be exit day, so companies had to have capacity in place on March 29.
“This isn’t a contract when you say to your builder ‘would you mind coming two weeks later because we’ve got some family over’.
“This is brand new ferry capacity and ports and terminals and that kind of thing.”
They went on: “This is the overarching thing – the cost of all of this is the cost of ensuring no deal is on the table.
“That’s the negotiating hand.
“As soon as we get a deal we can stop some of the work because what would be the point?
“But until we know we cannot risk medical supplies not coming into the UK.”