Foreign broadcasters may have to leave after no-deal Brexit, UK warns

International broadcasters could have to move out of Britain, RTÉ and TG4 could be unavailable on terrestrial television in Northern Ireland and telephone roaming charges could return for British customers after a no-deal Brexit, the British government has warned. The latest batch of technical notices on the impact of a no-deal Brexit also revealed that British driving licences could become invalid in the European Union and that British users could be shut out of some social media networks.

Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said the notices showed the government was ready to see business disrupted for the sake of ideology.

“These notices make clear firms would be hit with a sledgehammer in the event of ‘no deal’. They also illustrate the extent of the disruption consumers can expect if ideology wins over evidence. Commitments to continue regional funding and maintain high environmental standards are positive. However, extra costs, duplication of certification and interruptions to data flows would damage the economy, with a knock-on impact for living standards,” she said.

Prime minister Theresa May chaired a three-hour, special cabinet meeting on Thursday devoted entirely to the consequences of a no-deal Brexit, which heard from Bank of England governor Mark Carney about the likely negative impact on the economy.

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Disruption

Brexit secretary Dominic Raab admitted that a no-deal Brexit would be disruptive and that the government could not guarantee that it would reach individual agreements to prevent such extra costs as the return of roaming charges.

“I think we need to be honest about this. In the event of a no-deal scenario, which is not what we want, we would face short-term risks and short-term disruption. But what we need to have in place, and what people would expect us to have in place, is a set of plans and proposals, and the readiness amongst our institutional capacity, the staff in government, to manage those risks, avoid them where possible, or mitigate them. And that’s what we’re confident now we have got,” he said.

The issue of a backstop to guarantee that there would be no hard Border in Ireland after Brexit is the greatest remaining obstacle in the way of Britain and the EU sealing a withdrawal agreement that would include a 20-month transition period during which nothing would immediately change. The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier has sought to "de-dramatise" the backstop but Mr Raab said the EU had not moved far enough towards Britain's position that Northern Ireland should not be treated differently from the rest of the UK.

“If they meet the ambition, the pragmatism we’ve shown through our White Paper proposals then I’m confident we can get a good deal for this country, but also for the EU,” he said.

Labour's shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer said the only reason the government was talking about a no-deal Brexit was because Conservative divisions over Europe prevented the prime minister from negotiating a good deal.

“With the clock ticking, ministers should drop the irresponsible rhetoric and start putting jobs and the economy first,” he said.