British retailers have claimed the Government has not spoken to them about stockpiling food in the event of a no deal Brexit and insisted the plan would not work anyway.

Dominic Raab, the Brexit Secretary, said earlier this week ministers would ensure Britain had “adequate food supplies” if leaving the European Union without an agreement becomes the likely outcome of talks with Brussels.

Meanwhile, Theresa May, the Prime Minister, said the British public should take comfort from the fact the Government was planning for every Brexit scenario.

But the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has savaged the stockpiling plan and suggested it showed the Government failed to understand the way in which food was transported and stored.

The BRC said in a statement: “Stockpiling of food is not a practical response to a no deal on Brexit and industry has not been approached by Government to begin planning for this.