19 August 2019updated 23 Jul 2021 8:53am

The government just emailed confidential Brexit information to the wrong person

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 01: Commuters walk past the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament on February 1, 2018 in London, England. MPs have voted to leave the Palace of Westminster in the next decade as £3.5bn of restoration work is carried out on the building to improve fire safety. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

A confidential email about government no-deal preparations has mistakenly made its way into the inbox of a Labour backbencher.

The email, sent by a senior civil servant at the Department for Justice, reminds government departments that today is the deadline set by the Prime Minister for them to submit to No 10 their full analysis of no-deal preparations, as well as “a list of policy decisions required to reach a steady state after a ‘No Deal’ scenario”.

Following the leaks about Operation Yellowhammer over the weekend, it is yet further indication of the extensive preparations underway to prepare for no deal.

The error is best enjoyed, however, as a rather pleasing morsel of government incompetence: the email, sent to Labour backbencher Virendra Sharma, seems to have been intended for the new International Development Secretary, Alok Sharma…