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West Midlands employers aren't ready for a no-deal Brexit, according to leading business group the CBI.

But the warning came as Boris Johnson's government stepped up plans to take the UK out of the EU on October 31 whether a withdrawal agreement is in place or not.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said the West Midlands would be one of the regions most exposed to the economic fallout from leaving the EU without a deal, with an estimated annual loss of economic output worth £18 billion by 2034.

CBI West Midlands Regional Director Richard Butler said: "Neither the West Midlands, the UK nor the EU are prepared for a no deal Brexit."

And Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce said a survey of local businesses found only 37%, fewer than four in ten, think their organisation has undertaken a through Brexit risk assessment to identify how they could be affected.

Henrietta Brealey, the Chamber's director of policy and strategic relationships, said: "A no-deal Brexit would have significant implications for our region, as the Government’s own Brexit analysis shows. Our automotive sector, and the vast range of services firms that supply them, would be particularly hard hit by any friction arising in the movement of goods across borders."

However, Mr Johnson is stepping up planning for a no-deal scenario on October 31.

A major advertising campaign - reportedly costing up to £100 million - is planned to raise public awareness of Brexit preparations, including advice for businesses on getting ready for Brexit without a deal.

And the first meeting of the Government's new Exit Strategy Committee takes place today, Monday. The Prime Minister will miss this, as he will be visiting Scotland, and the meeting will instead be chaired by Michael Gove, the Government Minister in charge of planning for a no-deal Brexit.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the 2016 referendum result was an instruction to leave the EU come what may.

“The mandate certainly wasn’t to leave the EU if the EU let us, it was an in/out referendum, and we made clear, those on the campaign, that we should strive for a good deal but, if that wasn’t available, that we should go on and make a success of Brexit,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today.

Mr Johnson has said he does hope to agree a withdrawal agreement with the EU, although he also says he is determined that the UK must leave on October 31 whether a deal is in place or not.

Signing a withdrawal agreement with the EU would mean that the current trading arrangements continue, allowing goods to travel between the EU and UK with very few restrictions, while a permanent trade deal is agreed. However, a no-deal Brexit would mean that the current trading agreements suddenly come to an end.

Speaking to Birmingham Live last week, Mr Johnson said that preparing for a no-deal Brexit would help convince the EU to agree to a deal acceptable to the UK.

He said: “The more we can get ready for no deal and more prepared we are - and we will be absolutely confident, absolutely prepared - the more our EU friends will say okay, this is for real, let’s think about the alternatives.”

Polling suggests there is little support for a no-deal Brexit among West Midlands voters.

(Image: Daily Mirror)

A survey by ComRes, commissioned by campaign group 38 Degrees, found 40% of West Midlands voters said that would be less likely to vote Conservative if a Tory government takes the UK out of the EU on a no deal basis.

It found 60% agree with the statement that “the cost of daily essentials” will get worse in the event of a No Deal outcome, and 40% said that a No Deal Brexit will harm manufacturing.

The Conservative former Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine will join Birmingham Labour MP Jess Phillips at an anti-Brexit rally in Birmingham tomorrow (Tuesday July 30), alongside legendary football commentator Clive Tyldesley.

Speaking at a rally in the University of Birmingham, they will say that it would be a democratic outrage for Boris Johnson’s government to inflict a "no-deal" Brexit on Britain without putting it to the public in a Brexit referendum.

Lord Heseltine said : "The battle over Brexit has divided Britain and traditional political loyalties as never before. When I speak at the latest People’s Vote rally in Birmingham I will have a message to all my fellow Conservatives: we should stick with our Conservative values and put the national interest first."

Ms Phllips, Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, said: "I promise to spend time working with MPs from across the House of Commons to ensure that we do not crash out of the EU without a deal and that any deal we do get is put to the British people in a referendum."