'We must be ready': James Brokenshire says government is right to prepare for a no-deal Brexit

Housing and Communities Secretary James Brokenshire says the government is right to prepare for a no-deal Brexit.

His comments come after ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston revealed on Tuesday that cabinet ministers were told of Department of Transport contingency plans to own or lease roll-on roll-off lorry ferries to make sure vital supplies of goods and medicines continue to reach these shores if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Mr Brokenshire told ITV's Peston show: "I think that’s what government should be doing in preparation, in terms of dealing with the issues that could arise, we’ve seen in the past what disruption at the Channel ports could look like."

However when pressed by Peston about how the plans looked like "war-time preparations", Mr Brokenshire added: "It’s not a situation that we want to get into, we are very focused, the prime minister remains focused on negotiating that right outcome, which is the deal.

"Ultimately yes of course we don’t want to end up in this situation but we must be ready, we need to be prepared, that’s why we are taking a number of steps, all of the work that is taking place across government to do that."

• Is Theresa May on the brink of facing a leadership challenge?

And with Theresa May under pressure over the handling of the Brexit negotiation, Conservative MP Nicky Morgan told Peston co-presenter Anushka Asthana that the prime minister had her support "for now" but added: "In the course of the next 12 months we'll be looking for a new leader."

• Peston is broadcast on ITV at 10.45pm on Wednesdays - but you can watch it live on this page as the programme is recorded.