{"id":45422,"date":"2019-08-19T12:29:59","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T11:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=45422"},"modified":"2019-08-22T11:47:36","modified_gmt":"2019-08-22T10:47:36","slug":"martin-mckee-if-leaked-operation-yellowhammer-document-is-wrong-then-the-government-must-publish-the-right-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/08\/19\/martin-mckee-if-leaked-operation-yellowhammer-document-is-wrong-then-the-government-must-publish-the-right-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin McKee: If leaked Operation Yellowhammer document is wrong, then the government must publish the right one"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"standfirst\">Grave concerns prompted by leaked analysis of no deal Brexit preparations cannot be dispelled or tackled by hollow assurances, says Martin McKee<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2017\/02\/Martin-McKee.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-38368\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2017\/02\/Martin-McKee.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"218\" height=\"135\" \/><\/a>The leak of a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.co.uk\/article\/operation-chaos-whitehalls-secret-no-deal-brexit-plan-leaked-j6ntwvhll\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">secret document<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on the effect of a \u201cno deal\u201d Brexit sent the UK government\u2019s news management operation into overdrive. Ministers and their spokespersons were given two \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2019\/aug\/18\/number-10-furious-leak-document-predicting-no-deal-brexit-shortages\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">lines to take.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d One was to portray the analysis as hopelessly out of date. The second was that it had been leaked by a disgruntled former minister, seeking to undermine Boris Johnson\u2019s new approach to the EU, which is to abandon any attempt at negotiation and instead threaten the EU27 by showing that the UK is deadly serious about leaving without a deal, hoping they will somehow back down on what was previously agreed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Neither argument is credible. Firstly, as the BBC Economics Correspondent Faisal Islam has shown by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/faisalislam\/status\/1162859157969670144\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">some forensic analysis<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, the document must be very recent. This is because the estimates for the reduction in freight flows, due to delays imposed by the French authorities, have been changing. At first it was thought that every truck would be inspected physically, but the French have been investing heavily in technology which will reduce this. The figure quoted is the revision that Faisal was told had been adopted in July this year. For this reason, he concludes that it cannot be more than a few weeks old, with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/faisalislam\/status\/1163370638498816000\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">other evidence<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> suggesting it dates from late July or early August. Incredibly, ministers expect us to believe that quite remarkable progress has been made in that time, without any explanation of how this miracle was achieved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Secondly, if it was prepared so recently, and the <em>Sunday Times<\/em> reports that it was \u201ccompiled this month\u201d, presumably because this is stated somewhere on the original document, then this would be after those former ministers had left government. But, more importantly, the leaked documents contained little that was not already known to those involved in Brexit preparations in the UK, even if they are prevented from saying this by the many <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com\/news\/96807\/pharma-bodies-confirm-signing-ndas-for-no-deal-brexit-plans\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">non-disclosure agreements<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> imposed by the government. It is inconceivable that those working on Brexit in the rest of Europe will be unaware of the true situation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The document is reported to predict significant disruption of medicines lasting up to six months, with HGVs facing a delay of up to 1.5 to 2.5 days at the border. This seems entirely plausible. Switzerland is closely integrated with the EU yet, as a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5hWQ0T10v6Y\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">BBC report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> revealed by following a single van across the Swiss-German border, the process is extremely complex. With no deal it would be vastly worse. Yet this is only the beginning. Shortages of permits that will be needed by hauliers to operate in the EU27, work permits for drivers, uncertainty about legal liability and insurance if things go wrong, and the cost of vehicles and drivers being tied up in queues, all raise questions about how many transport firms will think that trade with the UK is worth it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">These problems will impact on many sectors, especially food, which will also be threatened by loss of seasonal agricultural workers. This is an inevitable concern given the very many people in the UK dependent on foodbanks. However, for health professionals, the greatest concern is medicines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Medicines have several characteristics that make them especially vulnerable to supply chain threats. These can be fatal, something that is observed every day in many low income countries where procurement, transport, and supply problems allow sub-standard medicines to reach the market, for example because of breaks in cold chains. They also encourage the activities of organised crime syndicates, diverting genuine medicines to the black market or introducing counterfeits. The UK\u2019s departure from systems for sharing intelligence will make this more difficult to detect. Specifically, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-britain-eu-fake-drugs\/drugmakers-say-uk-could-lose-out-on-eu-counterfeit-drugs-push-idUSKCN1PX003\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">voiced serious concerns<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> about the UK\u2019s exclusion from the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">European Union\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/health\/human-use\/falsified_medicines_en\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Falsified Medicines Directive<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, to which the UK <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">contributed substantially.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the leaked document conceded, the requirement to apply Good Distribution Practices makes it impossible to stockpile many medicines. This calls into question the frequent reassurances by ministers that this is happening.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The fundamental problem with medicines is that, in an increasing number of cases, one cannot be substituted for another. The pharmacogenomics revolution has seen a transformation of cancer care. The first drugs, some derived from chemical weapons, were based on a scorched earth approach. Now they are targeted to individual molecules that can vary widely within what appears to be the same type of cancer meaning the wrong drug is useless. In some cases, even a small change in formulation can have serious effects, as with epilepsy. David Nicholl, a neurologist who was shown Brexit planning documents, was so alarmed that he felt obliged to speak out. His concerns have not been assuaged. This is very different from the situation with food. While some children express a dislike for broccoli, at least they will not die if cauliflowers are provided instead (although as a reminder of our vulnerability, even the latter are now <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-49330210\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">in short supply<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> because of extreme weather conditions).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Added to this is the fact that supply chains for many medicines are fragile at the best of times. With thousands of different products, ensuring that supplies are adequate and get to the right place at the right time is immensely complex. Even now, there are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2019\/aug\/11\/menopausal-women-in-the-uk-facing-severe-hrt-shortage\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">shortages of hormone replacement therapy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a very commonly used treatment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quite why the Yellowhammer documents were leaked, and by whom, may never be known. The government seems to have done little to identify the source of another recent leak, which led to the removal of the UK\u2019s ambassador to Washington, again connected to Brexit. In normal times one might ask <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">cui bono<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, or who benefits, but these are not normal times.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It is simply not good enough for ministers to say that these documents are wrong. They must provide ones that are right. It is still unclear whether the Health Secretary Matt Hancock actually did say that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/politics\/tory-matt-hancock-denies-warning-13819471\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">people will die<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in the event of a no deal Brexit, but we must hope that, somewhere in his Department, someone has undertaken an assessment of whether this is true, as seems extremely likely. If so, it should be published forthwith, especially as Theresa May\u2019s government, under pressure from the Faculty of Public Health, agreed that the Brexit process would <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fph.org.uk\/news-events\/media-centre\/fph-press-releases\/recent\/do-no-harm\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cdo no harm\u201d<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Without an impact assessment, how can it know? And it is not just for reasons of transparency. He has also said, frequently, that all will be well if <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/health\/brexit-nhs-no-deal-plans-simon-stevens-matt-hancock-theresa-may-eu-final-say-a8654996.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">everyone does what they need to do<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Maybe he could explain how on earth they will do that if the government\u2019s assessments are secret? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Martin McKee<\/strong> is professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><b>Competing interests:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Martin McKee is an unpaid member of the advisory board of Scientists for EU.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Grave concerns prompted by leaked analysis of no deal Brexit preparations cannot be dispelled or tackled by hollow assurances, says Martin McKee [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/08\/19\/martin-mckee-if-leaked-operation-yellowhammer-document-is-wrong-then-the-government-must-publish-the-right-one\/\">More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14774,14777,14776],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brexit","category-columnists","category-martin-mckee"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Martin McKee: If leaked Operation Yellowhammer document is wrong, then the government must publish the right one - The BMJ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Grave concerns prompted by leaked analysis of no deal Brexit preparations cannot be dispelled or tackled by 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