Row erupts as civil servants ordered to halt £4bn no-deal Brexit planning with 'immediate effect'

The decision to begin 'winding down' the emergency preparations came after European leaders agreed to delay the UK's exit until 31 October. Since triggering Article 50 two years ago, some 16,000 civil servants have been moved to departments most likely to be impacted if the UK left the EU without a deal. Labour MP Hilary Benn, who chairs the cross-party Commons Brexit Select Committee said the estimated £1.5bn cost of halting the preparations was a result of Mrs May's refusal to rule out a no-deal Brexit sooner. He said: 'It was important to plan for all contigencies, but this is the huge cost of the Prime Minister repeatedly saying: 'My deal or no deal' when she knew that leaving without a deal was not in the national interest. This is one example of how Brexit is proving to be very costly for our country.'