Claims that the Port of Dover could collapse on ‘day one’ of Brexit have been dismissed as doom-mongering by local MP Charlie Elphicke.

The claim was based on supposedly confidential government papers depicting the outcome of different Brexit scenarios.

Senior civil servants have speculated on three possible Brexit outcomes: one mild, one severe and one they have called 'Armageddon'.

According to a source quoted in The Sunday Times, the government’s analysis suggests the port’s inability to operate is not even the worst-case scenario but the second-worst.

But the Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke said: "Once again we're seeing defeatist doom-mongers saying we can't really leave the EU. Yet if we make the investment that's needed and focus our efforts on ensuring we are ready on day one for Brexit at the Dover front line, we can continue to trade seamlessly - just as we do now with the rest of the world."

Kent Green party spokesman Stuart Jeffrey said the reports underlined the case for Brexit to be halted.

"This is no longer a mess this is a potential disaster. With no solutions agreed we need an immediate pause on Brexit. We cannot allow the UK to trundle blindly towards a catastrophe. We need the pause so that there is time for a deal to be negotiated and once negotiated we need a second referendum to ensure the public are comfortable with the impact it will have."

According to the Sunday Times, if the UK left the EU without a deal, supermarkets could close within days, hospitals would be unable to get medicines they needed and there would be petrol shortages.

The government faced criticism recently after refusing to disclose details of how Brexit could impact on Kent - because it would not be in the public interest to do so.

The HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs) rejected a Freedom of Information request from the KM Group for the details of discussions of the Border Planning Group.

The group of senior Whitehall civil servants was set up to scrutinise departmental planning for border-related issues - such as security and customs checks - arising from Brexit.