PANICKED Government officials are preparing to recruit an extra 10,000 staff to prepare Britain for a no deal Brexit as Theresa May's deal looks more and more like it's doomed. Civil service chief executive John Manzoni said Whitehall would double the number of staff working on Brexit if talks collapse and Britain ‘crashes out’ of the EU on March 29. With just 106 days until Brexit Day he told MPs that an extra 5,000 staff had already been lined up and a further 5,000 would be employed if Britain was heading for a “disorderly” Brexit. The Government has already deployed 10,000 civil servants to work on no deal contingencies, Mr Manzoni told the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee. The extra staff is a combination of employees redeployed from other departments and new recruits. He said Whitehall “can’t hire people fast enough” and the Government had to redistribute large chunks of resources from non-Brexit-facing departments. But Brexit MPs on the committee condemned the pair for using the phrase “disorderly Brexit”. Tory MP David Jones told them he was "concerned that the use of expressions like that may be communicating a lack of readiness on the part of the Government and the civil service". Sir Mark hit back - saying the civil service “don’t have complete control over the circumstances that would pertain in the event of leaving without a deal on March 29,” adding: "There are things that no government can control.” And Mr Manzoni told the Brexiteer: "It might be inconvenient but I'm here to tell you what I think is really going on." The news comes days after The Sun revealed that Chancellor Philip Hammond last week stepped up No Deal preparations by releasing £2billion of emergency cash. Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill told the same committee today that government departments have “paused” domestic policy work to focus on preparing for Brexit. BACK TO SCHOOL?Education Sec pushing to open schools in May over fears for kids' learning REST UP, PMBoris seen walking dog with Carrie at Chequers after negative coronavirus test PENSION CUTPensions’ triple lock must be axed to help pay coronavirus bill, experts say Exclusive LOCKED OUTMinisters worry plan to end lockdown is drifting due to No10 power vacuum FAILED TESTMinisters set to to miss critical coronavirus test and ventilator targets CREDIT CRISISPassport Office ordered to help process 1.2million Universal Credit claims STAY AT HOMEPolice get powers to fine Brits up to £1000 for being outside homes COMMON SENSENew rules mean people with certain conditions can leave home TWICE a day STILL OUTSchools WON'T reopen after Easter after minister suggested they could AT BRIT'S ENDCabinet torn over another 6 weeks of lockdown that now costs UK £2.4bn A DAY Today Mrs May has flown to Brussels for talks with the EU about how to get her Brexit deal through Parliament. But hopes are fading that she can get anything concrete to bring back to her MPs. Last night International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said after the PM won her no confidence vote: "Let's crack on with getting the changes we need to the deal on offer and press on with no deal preparations. "We are leaving the EU in 15 weeks." We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online politics team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours
The Civil Service could hire up to 10,000 additional staff to help the government prepare for a no-deal Brexit. Whitehall would double the number of workers focusing specifically on Brexit, were the UK to fail to secure an agreement, said John Manzoni, Civil Service CEO. The team would be comprised of existing employees from other departments and new recruits, he added, confirming 5,000 staff had already been lined up in preparation for such a scenario.