SCOTLAND’S Brexit secretary has warned the supply of vital medicines cannot be guaranteed in the event of a no-deal exit.
Mike Russell said arrangements were previously in place, but the situation had changed following the Brexit deadline being pushed back to October 31.
He insisted ministers now cannot “absolutely guarantee” all medicines will continue to be available if the UK crashes out of the European Union.
Both candidates to be the next Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, have said they would be willing to leave without a deal.
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Speaking on the BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland, Mr Russell said leaving the EU without an agreement would be "disastrous" and that everything should be done to avoid it.
He said preparations to secure the supply of medicines in the event of a no-deal exit are still underway in London, adding: “They have to change them from the last time.
“There are bigger difficulties in preparing for a no-deal in October than there were in March.
“For example, the availability of warehousing towards the end of the year, towards the Christmas season, becomes much more difficult.
“Those preparations are not finalised south of the Border. We’re working with the UK Government to make sure they are finalised.
“But it is a very difficult thing to guarantee everything you need to do under a no-deal. In fact, it’s impossible.”
Asked if he was saying the Scottish Government cannot guarantee the availability of medicines, he said: “You can’t absolutely guarantee that, no.
“We made arrangements with the UK Government in March that we felt would last for three to six months, which meant that most things would be available, and there were substitutes.
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“One of the biggest jobs that was undertaken was to find substitutes for things that wouldn’t be available, and that is a massive job.
“It was undertaken by both governments and it was by and large successful. We were confident then.
“That work has still to be finalised because it’s changed. For example, as I said the availability of warehousing has changed.
“The drug companies themselves are very, very reluctant to be involved in the deep way they were before. They will in the end I think do so.
“But all companies involved in stockpiling took big losses in March.”
Mr Russell said one agricultural firm had shown him €200,000-worth of chemicals they had stockpiled, adding: “They simply said they wouldn’t do it again, because they couldn’t afford to do it again.”
Asked about other goods, he again stressed: “It will be very difficult, if not impossible, to guarantee the continuity of supplies.”
Mr Russell said the Scottish Government is still considering attempting to hire its own ships to try to alleviate problems.
Earlier, he insisted crashing out without a deal would lead to a boom in unemployment and problems with the food chain.
He said: "A no-deal would result in substantial increases in unemployment very quickly, it would result in businesses closing down, it would result in problems with the food chain, it would result in problems with the supply of essential medicines, all those things are really, really difficult and the further you are down the supply routes, and Scotland of course is at the end of many supply routes, the worse it would be."
A UK Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "Our priority is for all patients to continue to have access to medicines and medical products when we leave the EU.
"We are working with industry and other stakeholders to continue robust no-deal contingency planning for supply after 31 October.
"We are confident that if everyone does what they need to do, the supply of medicines and medical products should be uninterrupted."
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