British April Fool's jokes have been banned this year under an archaic parliamentary order, amid warnings the public can no longer tell the difference between reality and farce.

The statute from 1653 states that the issuing of false reports is strictly prohibited and punishable by the splitting of an offender’s ribs.

Officials in the Cabinet Office have taken the unusual step of asking media outlets to refrain from publishing the traditional stories on April 1 in case they trigger panic buying or spark riots.

The original statute was imposed by Oliver Cromwell when he became convinced that the public's mocking of his warts was undermining attempts to crush royalists after the civil war.

The measure was technically never revoked or overtaken in the statute books, and has now been revived by Cabinet Office Minister Lord Japes under a statutory instrument of the EU Withdrawal Act, the emergency legislation that underpins EU exit.

It comes after reports that in a no-deal scenario Britons could run short of toilet paper, will be stopped from taking their pets on holiday, or buy bottled drinking water in shops.

In a statement last night, the Cabinet Office warned that April Fool's pranks were now seen as a serious threat to the Government's attempts to maintain calm amid the Brexit crisis.