Following the Liberal Democrats forcing the government to release the figures that showed only three in ten businesses who export to the EU had registered for an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number, HMRC have today announced they will be automatically enrolling companies in an attempt to prepare for Brexit.

In a no-deal Brexit, businesses that currently only trade with EU countries will need an EORI number to trade goods into and out of the UK.  HMRC uses this number to identify the business and collect duty on their goods.

Government is flailing from one crisis to the next when it comes to no-deal Brexit preparations. It was only after the lack of preparedness among UK exporters to the EU was exposed by the Liberal Democrats that the government has acted to fast track export registration.

The Operation Yellowhammer leaks expose the government’s own analysis of the scale of the fallout a no-deal Brexit poses for the country including delays at the border, food, fuel, and medicine shortages, and rising prices in our shops.

Exporters might have the correct registrations but Operation Yellowhammer documents tell us they will in all probability be sitting in lengthy lorry queues at border crossing points. There is no form of Brexit that won’t be a disaster for our country, and the Liberal Democrats are the only UK-wide party committed to stopping Brexit.