A MOTHER says she is worried that her daughter who suffers from type 1 diabetes is being used a political “pawn”.

Julie Harper, whose daughter Morgana relies on insulin, said: “That’s what worries me, that people’s lives are being played at, my daughter’s life I feel is becoming a pawn.”

She says that following the release of the Operation Yellowhammer documents, the government’s preparation for a no-deal Brexit, she’s worried that her daughter’s insulin, imported from Denmark, will not be able to get into the country.

The Yellowhammer documents say that in a no-deal Brexit scenario, flow rates could be as low as 40% on day one, and significant disruption could last up to six months.

Julie had sent a letter to Maria Miller, MP for Basingstoke, asking for reassurance that the supply of insulin will be preserved if the UK left the EU with no deal, and was concerned by the response.

The letter, seen by the Gazette, says: “I am glad to hear that Ministers have had excellent engagement with industry and I have been assured that if everyone does what they are supposed to, the supply of medicines to the UK in the event of a no deal exit will be uninterrupted.”

“It’s that word ‘if’, it opens up all sorts of possibilities for problems, for human error, the weather, unforeseen circumstances, red tape, goodness knows what,” Julie said.

“Of course there’s going to be problems, which is just normal human life.

“Boris Johnson’s ‘do or die’ promise is starting to sound rather malign if, coming back to Maria Miller’s letter, if everyone doesn’t do what they’re supposed to. If they don’t ‘do’, then perhaps people will ‘die’.”

For Julie, the implications of her daughter not having insulin is clear.

“If you don’t get insulin, the body can’t process sugar.”

This can lead to major issues, such as putting her at a higher risk of cardiac problems, chronic kidney issues and deterioration of veins in the toes, fingers and eyes.

It can also lead to ketoacidosis, which is potentially fatal – and this risk has alarmed Julie to the point where she is having to take action.

“We have started stockpiling which is exactly what they didn’t want us to do, but what else do they expect us to do?”

Morgana, who has just started University, had previously become very ill because of diabetes seven years ago.

“She’s just started university which is stressful enough.

“She started it earlier when she was 18 but became very ill with her diabetes so we’ve just got her back to wellness and there’s the thought that we might ruin her second chance at getting her degree because of not having access to insulin, because it will make you very very ill,” Julie said.

“Her health is very fragile at the best of times.”