The UK could be forced to charter ships to bring in supplies in the event of a no-deal Brexit, ministers have been warned.

The cabinet was briefed on plans for alternatives if new customs controls in France block the Dover-Calais route, potentially causing chaos in the English Channel, according to the Financial Times.

Transport secretary Chris Grayling reportedly discussed the possibility of hiring entire ships, or securing cargo space in vessels, to bring food, medicines and other supplies in through alternative ports.

David Lidington, the cabinet office minister, told his colleagues the Dover-Calais route could only run at a maximum of 25 per cent of its capacity under a no-deal scenario.

A department for transport spokesperson said: "We remain confident of reaching an agreement with the EU, but it is only sensible for government and industry to prepare for a range of scenarios.

"We are continuing to work closely with partners on contingency plans to ensure that trade can continue to move as freely as possible between the UK and Europe."

Theresa May delivers Brexit statement to MPs

Labour MP David Lammy, who is pushing for Britain to stay in the European Union, said: "Brexit has become like a declaration of war on ourselves. Emergency ships will be chartered for food and medicine if we leave the EU with no deal.

"But at least when we're using ration books and running out of drugs, we'll have taken back control."

Theresa May has ordered weekly updates for her senior ministers on preparations for EU withdrawal either with or without a deal.

Britain before Brexit: East of England Show all 13 1 /13 Britain before Brexit: East of England Britain before Brexit: East of England Norwich A couple and their dog relax by the Cathedral’s Labyrinth. I am charmed by the arrangement of their bodies and the shapes in which they are bonding. I realise the contemporary significance of the scene: the labyrinth - a complicated, irregular network of passages in which it is difficult to find one’s way - alongside the simplicity and closeness of human togetherness. In any complicated maze-like structure - Brexit included - it is important to remember that people and love and relationships are a vital part of the picture. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: East of England Luton A construction worker assembles metal barriers for an art event. He looks towards an off-licence boasting to be pure 100% Moldovan. The lady inside isn’t returning the gaze, but stares inwards, onto the surface of her selfie, her narcissism being by far the most interesting thing in the shop window. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: East of England Luton Walking back into town from Leagrave High Street I notice two graffitied propaganda messages: ‘Free Gaza’ and ‘Beverly is a black cow’. Here are but two voices, I think, in the crazy cacophony of contemporary British discourse, of the British tongue, fractured as it is into accents, splintered by slangs, torn, in this case, into the libertarian and abusive, one dehumanising, one for freedom. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: East of England Cambridge University students hold a flash protest against the low pay of McDonald’s employees. They receive tuts, cheers, insults, whoops, raised eyebrows. People enter the restaurant in any case, unaware or uncaring that they have crossed a picket line. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: East of England Norwich I went to look inside the Catholic Cathedral during Mass. I wanted to see the ritual and the practices, the people and their poses. There is a rich spectrum of visual dimensions to Catholic prayer that I first noticed when photographing in Poland. I’m attracted to its ambivalence: solemn and joyous; lonely in dialogue; desperate but determined; solitary yet complete. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: East of England Great Yarmouth Posters from the town’s glory days surround the Winter Gardens as it rusts and becomes overgrown. It seems like an intentional act to rekindle nostalgia in the face of disrepair, to balance the present with representations of the past. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: East of England Norwich At the back of the central market hang three representations of conflict, side-by-side, connected, making sense in relation to one another. Only one message can be worn at any one time, but together they narrate a powerful image of modern Britain: a unified group, a club, an undefeated nation facing an existential threat from its enemies. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: East of England Luton People set up posts outside the train station, asking the town’s new arrivals for various things: religious missionaries seek attention and commitment; a person sleeping rough asks for food and spare change. I’m interested in how this affects the visual experience of arriving in Luton and what the religious and the homeless look like when viewed in the same frame. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: East of England Cambridge A concoction of interests outside King’s College: a tourist desperately hailing lost members of the group; a shopper takes a break from the high street; a man sits to read; a woman meditates with her identity concealed. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: East of England Luton A family emerges from the colours of Leagrave High Street. Twins sit and stare, identically, scrutinising me, like their father, perhaps. They are framed by rails of clothes. Mannequins exaggerate their life. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: East of England Luton A pop-up employment workshop opens for business in the town centre. The sign is heavily loaded with the values of modern Britain: one must aspire to achieve, earn, and live; acquiring skills is akin to personal development; the prioritisation of the ‘local’. A lady carrying water on a scooter - unconventionally, comically, skilfully - appears as a strange detail of everyday life passing such lofty visions. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: East of England Great Yarmouth The Britannia Monument celebrates Horatio Nelson’s life. An acrobat fell from the top and died in 1863. It remains a mystery, a travesty for some, that Britannia - the monument’s embodiment of the nation - has her back to the sea. These days she turns her back on a single one-man tent too, a home, a shelter erected on the shore. Richard Morgan/The Independent Britain before Brexit: East of England Great Yarmouth This was the last scene I saw in the town. I was leaving. I thought of how child’s play, in its innocence and vitality, continues amidst our hunched, phone-tapping adolescence and adulthood. Richard Morgan/The Independent

The updates will be delivered at the regular cabinet meeting by Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, who told ministers on Tuesday "good progress" was being made on preparing for both possibilities.

It comes after Mr Raab admitted in July the government must ensure "there is adequate food supply" in the event Britain and the EU fail to agree a deal.

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He confirmed the government was making extraordinary plans to stockpile food in case the negotiations fail. He told MPs the task would be overseen by industry, rather than Whitehall.

The government’s own figures show that 30 per cent of food imports came from the EU in 2016. The next highest figure is 5 per cent – from Africa – with 49 per cent produced domestically, in the UK.