3 April update: what happened in Brexit this week?

The Covid-19 pandemic is at the forefront of everyone's minds, but although Brexit negotiations have been suspended there is no official signal that Britain plans to ask for an extension. Ros Taylor (LSE) looks at the week's developments. Perhaps the most salient Brexit-related story of the week was the contradictory accounts of Britain's liaison with the EU over medical supplies – or lack of it. At first the UK government claimed it had accidentally missed the deadline to source ventilators from the EU. Then it emerged that Britain had taken part in four meetings, but decided not to take part in the joint procurement scheme, presumably because it would undermine the country’s commitment to ‘going it alone’ outside the EU.