Brexit date downplayed in government advertising shift - BBC News
The government changes the wording on its Get Ready for Brexit website after Saturday's vote.
Billboards telling the public to prepare for Britain's exit from the EU will launch soon

The government has changed the wording of its Get Ready for Brexit campaign appearing to suggest a no-deal exit on the 31 October is now less likely.

Its website now says: "We could still leave with no deal on 31 October."

The wording has been altered from earlier this month, when it said: "The UK is due to leave on 31 October."

The tweak comes after MPs backed a move to delay approval of the deal. The government has insisted it will still meet the 31 October deadline.

It has vowed to press ahead with the legislation - the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) - to implement the Brexit deal next week.

But the BBC economic's editor Faisal Islam tweeted that the wording on the government's "Get Ready for Brexit" website had been "markedly toned down" with "less emphasis on the date".

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Faisal Islam This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Prominent logos on the website saying "Brexit 31 October" also appear to have been removed.

Faisal said the wording also indicated preparation for 31 October was for the possibility of "no deal" rather than Brexit generally.

The campaign, aimed at preparing businesses and the public for leaving the European Union, has previously been criticised by members of the public arguing the ads are inaccurate for implying the UK will definitely leave on that date.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said last month it would not investigate the ads, saying the 31 October departure date was the "date that has been declared by the government".

"This therefore currently remains the default date that the public will consider as the official 'leave' date for the UK, as agreed with the EU, last autumn," the ASA said in September.

Cabinet minister Michael Gove, who is in charge of no-deal Brexit planning, told Sky News's Sophy Ridge on Sunday the government now planned to step up preparations for a no-deal Brexit, including triggering its "Operation Yellowhammer" contingency plans.

"The risk of leaving without a deal has actually increased because we cannot guarantee that the European Council will grant an extension," he said.

The information campaign urging the public and businesses to "get ready for Brexit" was launched in early September.

The campaign is reported to have cost the government £100m and has run on billboards as well as in social media adverts and on TV.