On Tuesday the Cabinet stepped up preparations to leave the EU on World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms. That will strengthen the Prime Minister’s final efforts to salvage her Brexit deal, and mitigate the risks in case they fail. With 100 days until Brexit, we need a clear-sighted appraisal of those risks, and stronger ministerial grip to manage them and reassure the country.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has instituted full ‘no deal’ planning in the NHS. That includes working with pharmaceutical companies so they can stockpile medicines that might be affected by any delays at Calais. The NHS already coordinates with pharmaceutical businesses to keep 12-week stockpiles of hundreds of medicines and vaccines, so this work is familiar. Many firms are ahead of the game. The UK’s largest insulin supplier, French firm Sanofi, started building up a 14-week supply in early August.

The Government should now focus on three top priorities. First, managing the risk that EU border checks add costs to UK businesses. The UK will adopt a ‘continuity’ approach, recognising EU regulatory standards on day 1 of Brexit, and taking an intelligence-led approach to enforcement rather than checking every truck from Europe.

Likewise, on exit, UK goods will comply with EU standards. Xavier Bertrand, President of the northern region of France, has said that the Calais authorities would facilitate the flow of lorries arriving from the UK. French officials say checks would take 2 minutes per lorry, not 10 minutes as Whitehall planners (inexplicably) assume.