The NHS might have to pay higher prices for supplies after a no-deal Brexit

Drug shortages could occur within a fortnight of leaving the European Union without a deal on October 31, MPs were warned yesterday.

Assessing the readiness of supply chains to cope in the case of disruption at cross-Channel ports, the head of the Healthcare Distribution Association warned that it kept only two weeks’ worth of some specialist drugs.

The committee was also warned that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the NHS might have to pay higher prices for supplies. “We would expect medicine shortages and a lot of price rises for the NHS pretty quickly and some shortages in some constituencies for sure,” Martin Sawer, whose association represents businesses, told the Commons Brexit select committee.

In the run-up to the March 29 Brexit deadline,