SWINDON and other Leave-voting areas with large manufacturing bases would be worst hit by job losses in the event of a no-deal Brexit, according to a leaked government document.

The Operation Kingfisher list seen by the Sunday Times highlighted “areas vulnerable to shock by virtue of having large plants, in vulnerable sectors, with labour markets that would struggle to cope”.

The town’s Honda plant will close in 2021 and 3,500 jobs will be lost but this list suggests that the town could be severely affected by Brexit before the plant even shuts.

Around 6,500 people in Swindon are employed in the advanced manufacturing sector according to a report by the Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

South Swindon MP and justice secretary Robert Buckland would not comment on the leak but spoke about the government’s Brexit readiness as a whole.

He said: “The government is working hard to get a deal, though I’m increasingly satisfied that a no-deal scenario would not be something that we can’t manage.

“The work over the last few months has been unremitting and unrelenting in terms of making sure everything that can be done just in case of a no-deal scenario is being done.

“People are telling me we need to end the uncertainty and get on with Brexit.

“All the necessary contingencies are being put in place to ensure supplies through Dover are as continuous as possible and anything that can be done to mitigate logistical issues is being done.”

Labour’s prospective Parliamentary candidate for south Swindon Sarah Church said: “It should be at the forefront of MPs minds to avoid a no-deal Brexit.

“People want Brexit to stop dominating their lives but that’s not the same as just ‘getting it done’.

“I would like there to be a deal and an amendment to that deal which brings it back to the public for a vote.

“Then, we can assess the merits and detriments of the deal against what we currently have as a member of the EU and decide if it’s what we really want.

“This is especially important given that Swindon would bear the brunt of the consequences of leaving with no deal or a bad deal.”