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Mr Raab this week sparked panic after claiming the UK should have “adequate food supplies” during crunch negotiations with chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier.
But his remarks have been met with fury by supermarket bosses and Britain’s grocers who have not only mocked the idea altogether, but raged at the politician for implying it was their responsibility to house stockpiles of produce.
One supermarket boss told the Financial Times the whole idea was “ridiculous” and showed “complete naivety”.
Mr Raab had said that “it would be wrong to describe it as the Government doing the stockpiling”.
But the British Retail Consortium said: “Retailers do not have the facilities to house stockpiled godsend in the case of fresh produce it is simply to possible to do so.”
The comments come after ministers agree to take dramatic steps and ramped up preparations by suggesting the M26 motorway should have a vast lorry park in the event of a no deal scenario.
This has only rises further questions about the availability of food in Britain, of which up to 40 percent is imported.
A senior executive of a large supermarket chain told the publication: “It’s ridiculous.
“It’s scary because it shows how far the government is from the reality of how things work.”
He added: “It’s genuinely worrying.”
Prime Minister Theresa May said in an interview with 5 News on Wednesday that “people should take comfort” that stockpiling plans are being drawn up and said the UK is preparing for “every eventuality”.
She said: “Far from being worried about preparations that we’re making, I would say that people should take reassurance and comfort.
“It’s right that we say because we don’t know what the outcome is going to be [from Brexit negotiations], we think it’s going to be a good one.”
She added: “We’re working for a good one but let’s prepare for every eventuality.”
Brexit campaigners have accused the government of using warnings over a no-deal Brexit to scare people into supporting Mrs May’s plans.
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