The Chief Executive Officer of Quinn Industrial Holdings (QIH), Liam McCaffrey, has said that a recent leaked report from the British Government outlining the “worst case scenario” that could result from a no deal Brexit is a “conservative assessment” in relation to the potential damage that could be caused.

Mr. McCaffrey has said that “the worst case scenario will be even worse than we might have imagined” and that QIH “remain enormously frustrated at the lack of political leadership to resolve this issue after more than three years of political jostling”.

The Sunday Times reported on a leaked copy of the “Yellowhammer Report”, a report that looks at the work ongoing across government to address the immediate impacts of a no-deal Brexit.

Operation Yellowhammer covers 12 “areas of risk”, such as movement of goods and people across borders, UK food and water supplies, healthcare and transport and the question of the Irish border, with the report stating that in the event of a no deal a “hard Border is likely”.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter this week Mr. McCaffrey stated:

“Recent reporting of the potential consequences of a hard Brexit are concerning but unsurprising and in our view represent a conservative assessment of the potential scale of impact for communities north and south and for the economies of both these islands.”

Mr. McCaffrey went on to say that politicians should feel a sense of responsibility to reach agreement to avoid a no deal Brexit and the damage he believes it will cause: “Whereas Operation Yellowhammer’s central case seems to expect an immediate and profound impact on cross border trade and local communities, one has a clear sense that the worst case scenario will be even worse than we might have imagined.

“In light of this information our politicians should now have a very clear sense of their responsibility to reach agreement and of the political as well as economic consequences of failing to do so.”

Former British Prime Minister, Theresa May, tried and failed to get the deal she negotiated with the European Union through the House of Commons. The deal included a backstop for the Irish border, which was met with universal condemnation from unionist politicians, who felt it threatened the union and would result in a defacto Border down the Irish Sea.

Mr. McCaffrey however believes that a hard Border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland could be devastating:

“At QIH our consistent view is that a hard Border needs to be avoided at all costs as the impacts for communities and businesses across the island could be devastating. Over the past 18 months we have met with and / or facilitated fact-finding visits by policy makers and politicians from the UK and EU to highlight our concerns and we remain enormously frustrated at the lack of political leadership to resolve this issue after more than three years of political jostling.”

He went on to speak about some of the practical and financial implications that the company was considering as it prepares for the introduction of a hard border:

“Given our location, straddling both sides of the geographic Border, QIH business operations alone account for more than 470 cross-Border truck movements each day as well as daily border crossings for over 235 staff. In addition to these operational considerations, we continue to invest, at considerable cost to the business, in continuity of supply measures to ensure our business is equipped to deal with the prospect of a hard Brexit, which is a growing concern of customers in Great Britain.”