Cabinet Secretary for Justice Humza Yousaf has responded to the announcement by Police Scotland of plans to put 360 officers on standby to deal with any incidents relating to the potential impact of the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
The Cabinet Secretary said:
“Decisions around officer deployment, contingency planning and mutual aid are operational decisions for the Chief Constable, however I welcome this prudent, sensible approach to contingency planning to ensure Police Scotland remains best-placed to keep people safe.
“The Scottish Government is carefully considering the implications of leaving the EU and intensive preparation is underway, including our work with the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland.
“The reality is the UK is not prepared for a ‘no deal’ Brexit in less than two months’ time. Such an outcome to the Brexit negotiations would be a catastrophe that would cause significant short-term disruption to the lives of ordinary citizens as well as to businesses and long-term harm to our economy.
“We will continue to press the UK Government to ensure this is avoided by taking No Deal off the table, while working on preparing for all eventualities. The Scottish Government has also been clear that any costs related to EU exit should not have a detrimental impact on Scotland’s public finances and should be met by the UK Government in full.”
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