LONDON - Britain's National Health Service will have access to what it needs in a no-deal Brexit and any stockpiling is counterproductive, Michael Gove, the minister in charge of coordinating no-deal Brexit planning, said on Wednesday.

"We are confident that the NHS and pharmacies will have access to everything they need and stockpiling is, I think, counter-productive," Gove said, when asked about reports of families stocking up on food and pharmacies worried about medicine supplies.

Britain is due to leave the European Union on Oct. 31 and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised to take the country out of the bloc with or without an agreement.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Stephen Addison) ((Costas.Pitas@thomsonreuters.com; 02075428024; Reuters Messaging: costas.pitas.thomsonreuters@reuters.net and @Cpitas on Twitter))