Brexit: Security minister Ben Wallace warns of no-deal risk

A no-deal Brexit deal would hit UK-EU security ties and have a “real impact” on protecting the public, Security Minister Ben Wallace is to warn.

In a speech to law enforcement leaders, he will say the “heart of effective security is close co-operation”.

Mr Wallace will say Theresa May’s deal, which MPs vote on next month, sets the foundations for the most comprehensive security relationship in EU history.

But Labour’s Diane Abbott said the plan “fails on guarantees for security”.

The shadow home secretary’s party is to table an amendment to reject the deal, but also “prevent the chaos of the UK crashing out of the EU”.

The UK is due to leave the EU on 29 March 2019 but under Mrs May’s deal the UK and EU would continue to work together as they do now during the transition period, which is due to run until 31 December 2020.

The deal for how the UK will leave EU is accompanied by a non-binding declaration on the future relationship between the EU and UK and the plans for co-operation on security after the transition period are set out in this document.

MPs are due to vote on the deal on 11 December. If they reject it – and no other solution is found – the UK could leave without a deal and current arrangements on security co-operation would end on 29 March with nothing to replace them.

Mr Wallace is due to speak at the International Security Expo in London, where he will say a no-deal departure would be a step backwards for security co-operation.

He will say the UK, through the experience of the last few decades, has learnt the value of working with its European partners.

“And we and Europe know, from bitter experience, that often when there is a mistake or when something has been missed that we find, time and time again, that it has been due to a failure of co-operation.

“A no-deal situation would have a real impact on our ability to work with our European partners to protect the public.”

Source: BBC