ParcelHero: Gov’s no-deal Brexit guidance ‘as reassuring as nuclear attack advice’

Delivery company ParcelHero has blasted the Government’s no-deal Brexit advice papers and compared the guidance to the ‘duck and cover’ nuclear warnings from the Cold War.

The Brentford-based firm said the Technical Notices, outlining how businesses and individuals should react to a ‘hard Brexit’, are “as reassuring as nuclear attack advice to shelter under a table”.

ParcelHero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks, said today (August 23) in a press statement that the Government’s advice brings to mind a booklet outlining how to survive a nuclear attack.

David said: “If the Government thought its first batch of 25 documents advising businesses and individuals how to plan for the event of us leaving the EU without a deal would reassure people, they are mistaken.

“The advice that people and businesses shipping items to the EU should ‘Engage the services of a customs broker, freight forwarder or logistics provider to help, or alternatively secure the appropriate software and authorisations.’ is reminiscent of Government advice to ‘Use tables if they are large enough to provide you all with shelter’ from 1980’s Protect and Survive government booklet.”

Speaking further, David explained that the European Commission recently warned how increased border controls will “severely” impact transport between the UK and EU and could cause “significant delays”.

He continued: “The technical Notice’s assertion that the Government will have stockpiled six weeks’ worth of medical supplies to cope with border disruption simply creates more worries than it calms.

“If that’s the level of delays anticipated for urgent medicines, what will the situation be like for normal goods? If individuals and SMEs are simply planning to send a parcel to the EU, or expecting a parcel collection from the continent, we can get a picture of the real delays anticipated.”

David added that as with the threat of a nuclear attack, “we very much hope that a no-deal Brexit is a worst-case scenario never actually happens”.

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