The Food and Drink Federation has said in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal in October, the government should provide assurances that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will not fine companies for collaborating to “tackle likely shortages”.

FDF chief operating officer Tim Rycroft told the BBC: “In the event of no-deal disruption, if the government wants the food supply chain to work together to tackle likely shortages – to decide where to prioritise shipments – it will have to provide cast-iron written reassurances that competition law will not be strictly applied to those discussions.”

Rycroft said the FDF had asked for reassurances at the end of 2018 but “despite support from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, we’re still waiting”.