UK faces food, fuel and drugs shortages in no-deal Brexit

On downtrend: People walk past a currency exchange outlet in London. The pound has slid almost 7% since the UK deferred the original end-March Brexit deadline. — Reuters

LONDON: Britain will face shortages of fuel, food and medicine if it leaves the European Union without a transition deal, jamming ports and requiring a hard border in Ireland, official government documents leaked to the Sunday Times show.

The Times said the forecasts compiled by the Cabinet Office set out the most likely aftershocks of a no-deal Brexit rather than the worst case scenarios. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office said it did not comment on leaked documents.