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21st Mar 2019

Armed forces ‘activate team’ in nuclear bunker in preparations for no-deal Brexit

The armed forces have 'activated' a team in a nuclear bunker beneath the Ministry of Defence in preparations for a no-deal Brexit

Reuben Pinder

A completely normal thing for a country to do and definitely not a sign of a crisis

The British armed forces have ‘activated a team’ in a nuclear bunker beneath the Ministry of Defence in preparation for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, Sky News are reporting.

Honestly, it’s difficult to decipher what exactly this means, but one thing’s for sure: it’s not a sign that things are going well. When the armed forces are getting involved due to something the country has voluntarily decided to do, it begs the question: are we sure this is still a good idea? Anyway, that’s pretty much a moot point now.

The possibility of the UK crashing out of the EU with no deal in place looks increasingly likely after Speaker of the House John Bercow prevented prime minister Theresa May from bringing her deal to the table for a third meaningful vote unless it was substantially different.

The prime minster made a speech on Wednesday night in which she explained that she had requested a short extension period to June 30, in order to renegotiate parts of her deal and bring it back to the house of commons. Every other EU nation must agree to the extension being granted, otherwise we are looking at leaving without a deal on March 29.

May also blamed MPs for the Brexit deadlock, telling the public she is on their side – a risky tactic when you need support from fellow MPs in order to pass a piece of legislation.

She appeared to suggest that remaining in the EU could still be a possibility, when listing the options that MPs could vote for: “Do MPs want leave with the deal, leave without a deal or not leave at all, it’s time for MPs to decide.”

However, it’s more like that the intention behind this was to blackmail MPs into voting her deal through. You wouldn’t want to betray what your constituents, would you?