No-deal Brexit threatens to set UK back 10 years, warns Philip Hammond

Chancellor's comments spark fresh clash with Theresa May - just hours after she claimed 'our best days are ahead of us'Philip Hammond said his government must 'heed the clear warnings' about the damage from a no-deal Brexit ( AFP/Getty )
Philip Hammond has warned that a no-deal Brexit threatens to set Britain back 10 years, in his starkest warning yet about the damage to the economy.

Embarrassingly for Theresa May, the comments came after she claimed “our best days are ahead of us” – even while insisting that crashing out of the EU without an agreement remains an option.“Whatever the deal is will not be as good as it is at the moment,” said Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s managing director.

“Let me be clear, compared with today’s smooth single market, all the likely Brexit scenarios will have costs for the economy and to a lesser extent as well for the EU.

“The larger the impediments to trade in the new relationship, the costlier it will be,” she said. This should be fairly obvious - but it seems that sometimes it is not.”“Whatever the deal is will not be as good as it is at the moment,” said Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s managing director.

“Let me be clear, compared with today’s smooth single market, all the likely Brexit scenarios will have costs for the economy and to a lesser extent as well for the EU.

“The larger the impediments to trade in the new relationship, the costlier it will be,” she said. This should be fairly obvious - but it seems that sometimes it is not.”