The failure to secure a deal to leave the European Union may lead to violence on British streets, according to a senior British lawmaker.
David Gauke, the U.K.’s secretary of state for justice, said a no-deal Brexit would be a disaster for the country, including the immediate ending of U.K.-EU cooperation on vital law enforcement issues.
“In the worst-case scenario if we had significant difficulties with food supplies no one is going to be left starving but if there are empty shelves, can that result in violence and more criminal cases?” he said in an interview with the Timespublished Saturday. “Of course it can.”
The British cabinet minister added that he believes Prime Minister Theresa May will not be able to get her Brexit deal through parliament during a vital vote next week, and said he backs delaying Brexit beyond the March 29 deadline so that an agreement with the EU can be reached.
“If parliament can’t find a way through and show some flexibility, the risk of a referendum is inevitably going to grow,” he added.