Thread by @lewis_goodall

NEW: I Understand govt depts have "stood down" their no deal planning, as of today.

Permanent Secretary of frontline Brexit dept sends staff email which says: ""In common with the rest of government, we have stood down our No Deal operational planning with immediate effect."

"This morning, at a meeting chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, we agreed that the objective is to ensure we wind down our No Deal planning in a careful, considered and orderly way. That will take a few weeks."

Just a reminder, the government has spent £4 billion on no deal planning, now operationally suspended.

Civil servants on loan from non-frontline depts will be returned after the easter break as quickly as possble. Civil servants are being encouraged to write handovers and ensure plans are "well-documented" so they might be picked up again (or who knows, ready for an inquiry...)

Govt spokesperson doesn’t try and refute the story. It’s happening across govt from tonight.

Govt didn’t need to do this. The extension isn’t so long as to make it inevitable they would take such a definitive step. The sense I’m getting from Whitehall sources is they’ve done it because the PM and parliament have made it clear they will never allow no deal.

Of course, no deal never happening would have probably always been the case. But in the meantime the govt has spent £2bn on preparation which will never be needed on a bluff no-one believed, mainly just to please a few dozen Tory backbenchers. That’s about £60 per taxpayer.

On the plus side, Matt Hancock might have a few fridges going cheap.