JUDY WOODRUFF: Just over two years ago, Britain
voted to quit the European Union, and the
day is fast approaching when a deal must be
struck over how that separation will work.
Now British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt
is warning of chaos that could be caused by
a so-called hard Brexit if Britain leaves
without an agreement between London and the
E.U.
And just today, London Mayor Sadiq Khan asked
the British Disaster Preparation Agency to
evaluate the effects of that possible hard
Brexit.
Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant has
been examining some of the potential consequences.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Dawn in Brixham, Southwestern,
England, one of Britain's key fishing ports,
and daily trading is under way.
Brixham Market has Britain's biggest fish
sales.
Ian Perkes, who exports to Europe, is reaping
the benefits of the Brexit vote.
Since then, sterling, the British currency,
has weakened by 12 percent.
Perkes buys fish in British pounds and sells
in euros.
But there have been dire warnings that if
Britain leaves the tariff-free European Union
without a deal in a so-called hard Brexit,
fish will end up rotting on the dockside.
IAN PERKES, Fish Exporter: A load of old tosh.
There is never going to be any fish left on
the dock.
Every fish here for the last 30 years is sold.
Nothing is ever left.
There'll be no fish left rotting on the dock,
I can assure you of that.
I think business will continue, and we will
thrive, which is why I voted out.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Brixham's trawlermen are
staunch Brexiteers, because they regard Europe's
fishing quotas as unfair.
One of the world's most bountiful fishing
grounds is close by, yet 70 percent of catches
go to foreign fleets.
Barry Young runs Brixham Market.
BARRY YOUNG, Managing Director, Brixham Trawler
Agents: I don't believe the English fishermen
are naive enough to believe that they're going
to have 100 percent of the quota.
We'd just like a little more of the natural
resource on England's doorstep, so that we
can have a decent living.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Brexit has divided modern
Britain like never before.
Ten miles from Brixham in Totnes, so-called
remainers have launched a rear-guard action.
They have declared independence from Britain
and are issuing passports that proclaim loyalty
to Brussels.
You must read the oath which you have got
on the back here.
WOMAN: I affirm my allegiance to the European
Union.
MAN: And promise to abide by and promote the
universal values.
WOMAN: Upon which it is based.
FIONA GREEN, Retired Psychotherapist: I'm
so proud to have these.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Retired psychotherapist Fiona
Green hopes that other pro-remain areas will
follow and that the rebellion will bear fruit.
FIONA GREEN: I'm kind of outraged that this
Brexit nonsense which is going to affect so
many British people, especially the poorer
working-class people, is -- has gone through
on a tiny minority vote.
MAN: Congratulations.
And name shall I put in here?
ROB HOPKINS, Remain Supporter: Rob Hopkins,
please.
From my perspective, Brexit has been something
that has caused divisions, unnecessary divisions.
It's taken the lid of sort of Pandora's box
of xenophobia and nationalism, which I thought
we'd really kind of moved beyond.
JONATHAN COOPER, Human Rights Lawyer: Either
way, it's going to be an economic car crash.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Human rights lawyer Jonathan
Cooper is the architect of the independence
movement.
JONATHAN COOPER: The European Union has been
this amazing mechanism for prosperity and
peace, and it has injected fundamental values
into the heart of European citizenship that
we're also going to lose.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Every passing day brings
a new warning for this damp collection of
British isles and their traditionally stoical
inhabitants.
There have been reports of stockpiling of
food and medicines by the government of Prime
Minister Theresa May.
THERESA MAY, British Prime Minister: This
is not just about stockpiling, that concept.
What it is, is about making sure that we will
be able to continue to do the things that
are necessary once we have left the European
Union, if we leave without no deal -- without
a deal.
MALCOLM BRABANT: May tried to convince the
European Commission in Brussels to accept
a compromise deal, but it was rejected outright
by the E.U.'s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier.
This has left May caught in a vice between
Europe and Britain's hard-line Brexiteers
led by former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson,
who resigned in protest at her compromise
proposals.
Political analysts say that Johnson and his
supporters may soon try to topple may over
Brexit.
MAN: Order.
Personal statement, Mr. Boris Johnson.
BORIS JOHNSON, Former British Foreign Secretary:
Let us again aim explicitly for that glorious
vision, a strong, independent, self-governing
Britain that is genuinely open to the world,
not the miserable permanent limbo.
MALCOLM BRABANT: The government is also under
pressure from big business.
Lucy Thomas was once a prominent campaigner
for the remain movement, and now advises entrepreneurs
how to prepare for Brexit.
LUCY THOMAS, Brexit Policy Adviser: The government
hasn't made all of the preparations that one
would need in order to be ready for a no-deal
Brexit.
They haven't got enough customs officers.
There are no big lorry parks if suddenly it's
impossible to move things across borders.
MALCOLM BRABANT: The port of Dover, 26 miles
from Calais in France, is the main freight
gateway between Britain and Europe.
It handles business worth $142 billion each
year and up to 10,000 trucks a day.
The E.U.'s free movement of goods rules mean
it only takes two minutes to process a truck
now.
But without a Brexit agreement, the reimposition
of customs and other border checks could cause
major disruption, as Dover warned in this
video.
NARRATOR: Even if it took just an extra two
minutes to process a lorry, it would cause
queues of over 17 miles at Dover.
And there would be similar chaos in Calais
and Dunkirk.
The slowed movement of goods wouldn't just
impact ports.
It would impact the whole supply chain.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Dover claims that highways
could become parking lots.
Some British supermarket chiefs have warned
there could be food shortages, and one even
claimed civil unrest might break out.
But William Bain, a former lawmaker who represents
the retail industry, wouldn't go that far.
WILLIAM BAIN, British Retail Consortium: I
think the key thing is that British consumers
have become used to getting the food that
they want, the quality that they want, at
the price they want, when they want it.
And the problem we have is a no-deal Brexit
would put those sensitive supply chains at
risk.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Time is rapidly running out
for there to be an amicable divorce settlement.
A recent poll showed that most Britons are
completely fed up with the painful negotiations
and want the whole process to be completed.
Another survey showed that there were about
100 parliamentary constituencies or districts
which voted to leave during the referendum
that would opt to remain should they be given
a second opportunity.
But the chances of there being a second referendum
are minuscule.
Brexit wouldn't just mean severing trade links.
Some fear Britain could leave the European
police agency Europol, and lose vital intelligence
at a time of international terrorism.
Civil commissioners who hold Britain's police
forces to account have told the government
that the public could be put at risk.
Matthew Scott is the commissioner in Kent,
the county where Dover is located.
MATTHEW SCOTT, Kent Police Commissioner: There
is potential for both British and European
organizations to lose access to information
about very dangerous people.
And what we're trying to emphasize is, is
that if there's no deal on security, both
sides stand to lose.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Back in Brixham, fish exporter
Steve Farrar regrets the isolation of Britain,
but hopes cool heads will prevail.
STEVE FARRAR, Fish Exporter: Everybody's got
too much to lose in the long term.
You might get chaos for a little while.
I think there's a lot of scare-mongering going
on.
At the end of the day, it's a hypothetical
question, but let's just answer it hypothetically.
Yes, it probably would be a bit awkward for
a while.
But fish and commodities and cars and everything
else that's created in different countries,
either in Europe or Britain or elsewhere,
they have got to be bought and sold.
The products will follow the money.
They will follow the money.
Easy as that.
MALCOLM BRABANT: As he takes his turn to off-load
the Mary Ann's catch, skipper Nathan Old fears
a compromise when negotiations between Britain
and the E.U. resume.
NATHAN OLD, Boat Captain: I'm not worried
about Brexit.
I just know the fishing industry will be the
one they sacrifice to keep deals.
The House of Lords, everything, it's landowners.
It's not -- they don't care about fishing
in this country.
MALCOLM BRABANT: The pro-European lobby claims
that Britain has most to lose from the divorce.
But Brexit is a body blow to a deeply divided
Europe.
And if it's a success, anti-E.U. movements
in other countries will be emboldened, further
threatening the concept of a unified Europe.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Malcolm Brabant
in England.
