Tory chairman refuses to deny 'out of date' document warning of no-deal Brexit meltdown is less than three weeks old

The Conservative chairman has failed to deny that the document warning of meltdown after a no-deal Brexit – which ministers branded "out of date" – is less than three weeks old.

James Cleverly twice ducked a challenge to dispute a former minister’s insistence that the Operation Yellowhammer dossier was written as recently as 1 August.

“That document evolves and I don’t want to get into too much detail of a leaked document,” Mr Cleverly replied.

The party chairman also denied the UK would crash out of vital crime-fighting databases if there is a no-deal on 31 October – although both the government and EU have previously acknowledged it will.

The latest comments come amid continuing controversy over the government’s refusal to reveal any “up-to-date” assessments, to head of growing fears of food, fuel and medicine shortages.

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Government dismisses calls for release of no-deal Brexit assessments

One former minister has said the Operation Yellowhammer document was in fact drawn up on the first day of the month – and, therefore, since Boris Johnson entered Downing Street.

Asked if the 1 August date was correct, Mr Cleverly said only: “The reason it is out of date is because the government has enhanced its no-deal preparation activity, it’s been doing that for months” – before ducking the question a second time.

The Yellowhammer leak has triggered alarm among business leaders, who are demanding answers in a meeting today with Michael Gove, the minister charged with no-deal planning.

The Freight Transport Association has warned of a repeat of the 2000 fuel protests which rocked the Blair government, having never previously been warned of a potential threat to fuel supply.

And the CBI has described the hugely-damaging scenarios set out in the document as “plausible outcomes”, on the basis of discussions with businesses.

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