04 February 2019 - Brexit Plan to Evacuate the Queen
Riots After a No-Deal Brexit? Save the Queen
Iliana Magra (The New York Times, 03/02/2019)
Should Britain stumble out of the European Union without a deal and riots erupt in the streets, officials have a plan:
Evacuate Queen Elizabeth II from London, local news outlets reported on Sunday.
Reports of a scenario to save the queen and senior members of her family came to light as the deadline for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union loomed. With fewer than 55 days until the formal divorce, now set for March 29, the country has been flooded with news of emergency preparations in the event no deal is reached.
Queen to be evacuated if Brexit turns ugly – reports
Reuters (The Guardian, 03/02/2019)
British officials have revived cold war emergency plans to relocate the royal family should there be riots in London if Britain suffers a disruptive departure from the European Union, two Sunday newspapers have reported.
“These emergency evacuation plans have been in existence since the cold war but have now been repurposed in the event of civil disorder following a no-deal Brexit,” the Sunday Times said, quoting an unnamed source from the government’s Cabinet Office, which handles sensitive administrative issues.
The Mail on Sunday also said it had learnt of plans to move the royal family, including Queen Elizabeth, to safe locations away from London.
Newspaper headlines: 'Brexit plan to evacuate the Queen'
Staff (BBC News, 03/02/2019)
The Sunday Times devotes its front page to suggestions that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh could be evacuated from London and taken to a secret location in the event of riots triggered by a no-deal Brexit.
A Cabinet Office source said plans to rescue the royals were originally drawn up during the Cold War but have now been "repurposed" by Whitehall, in case there is civil disorder if Britain leaves the EU without a deal.
A government source, quoted by the Mail on Sunday, acknowledges such a scenario might seem far-fetched, but says contingency planners have to envisage "every possible eventuality".
Queen would be ‘evacuated from London in event of no-deal Brexit riots’
Colin Drury (The Independent, 03/02/2019)
The Queen would be evacuated from London if riots broke out following Brexit, according to reports.
She would be joined by the whole royal family in a safe house away from the capital in an alleged revival of emergency Cold War plans should civil unrest unfold if Britain leaves the EU without a deal.
“These emergency evacuation plans have been in existence since the Cold War, but have now been repurposed in the event of civil disorder following a no-deal Brexit,” a cabinet office source told The Sunday Times.