[Pierre]

The Sun has seen the doomsday classified document designed to kickstart ministers into a major planning operation to see off disaster. It reveals:

- One in 20 Town Halls could go bust in a second Covid wave, sparking social care chaos.
- The economic impact of the virus and Brexit could cause public disorder, shortages and price hikes.
- Troops may have to be drafted on to the streets to help the police in the worst-case scenario — 1,500 are already on stand by.
- Social distancing measures and masks will have to continue until 2021 regardless.
- Supplies of food and fuel are all under threat this Christmas if Dover becomes blocked.
- Downing Street is pushing hard for a trade deal but is making contingency plans for an “unruly” exit from the EU transition period at the end of December.

With trade talks looking set to go the wire, there is a risk they collapse — putting up trade barriers overnight on 1 January.

In that scenario planners believe France will force “mandatory controls on UK goods from day one” and between 40 and 70 per cent of hauliers travelling across the Channel may not be ready for this.

That could see flow between Dover and Calais down 45 per cent for three months, triggering long queues of HGVs in Kent.

The outlook is also bleak for Gibraltar and the Channel Islands, both reliant on imports.
Gibraltar could be cut off from Spain and economically crippled and the Channel Islands may need airdrops of medicines and food.

So from all of that there are two lines of information that are not just speculation.

I think I’ll still sleep easy tonight.