With the possibility of a no-deal Brexit looming ever larger for British Prime Minister Theresa may, the Confederation of Paper Industries has raised a terrifying spectre: the country could run out of toilet roll.

And the threat is not just on paper. CPI director general Andrew Large told BBC that the industry relies on last-minute imports and that without a trade deal, delays at the borders would roll over to production, with stocks quickly wiped out.

Guiseppe Munarie, country operations manager for Sofidel (which makes toilet roll for a number of brands) explained to the BBC that although suppliers were building up stocks where possible, it was possible that the supply chain would get caught short.

He said that there were enough supplies for “several weeks” but neither he nor Mr Large were able to rule out what might happen in extremis, assuming that extra stocks were not flushed out.

The story is yet another case of trade going down the tube.

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