THAMES Valley Police has refused to publish its plans for dealing with the effects of Brexit on the grounds it would harm national security and international relations.

The Thames Valley local resilience forum – responsible for warning, informing and advising the public in an emergency – has been making Brexit contingency plans.

The forum covers Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, and is made up of local authorities, the NHS, police and other organisations, and is based at Thames Valley Police’s headquarters in Kidlington.

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Local resilience forums usually plan for emergencies like flooding, railway accidents and industrial accidents, but recently leaving the EU has been added to the list.

Thames Valley Police (TVP) refused to publish any dates of the forum’s Brexit planning meetings, let alone minutes and agendas, despite a Freedom of Information request.

It said releasing the information could lead to the public losing ‘confidence in TVP’s ability to protect the wellbeing of the community’.

Darren Humphies, of the information management unit, said the police ‘can neither confirm nor deny’ it holds this information, because it would harm national security and international relations.

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He said: "There is undoubtedly a period of uncertainty with unknown consequences for the entire country and public at large.

"To confirm or deny whether information is or isn’t held in respect of planning meetings, in preparation for leaving the EU, would reveal which forces have plans in place and which forces do not.

"This knowledge would enable criminals and terrorists to map force areas which are ‘vulnerable’, thereby rendering them easy targets."

Confirming or denying information ‘would provide those intent on committing criminal or terrorist acts with valuable information as to where the police believe civil unrest may and may not occur’, he said.

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Mr Humphries did admit that publishing the plans ‘would improve public debate’ and the ‘public are entitled to know how public funds are spent’, but he also said: “The only way of reducing risk is to be cautious with what is placed in the public domain.”

On international relations, Mr Humphries said publishing Brexit plans would ‘undermine the relationship and trust between police forces and international agencies’.