The impact of Brexit on the UK economy will be worse than that caused by the pandemic, according to the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
Richard Hughes said the fiscal watchdog had assumed leaving the EU would "reduce our long run GDP by around 4%" as he told the BBC : "We think that the effect of the pandemic will reduce that (GDP) output by a further 2%."
GDP - Gross Domestic Product - is a measure of the size of the economy.
"In the long term it is the case that Brexit has a bigger impact than the pandemic", Mr Hughes said.
His comments came just hours after the OBR had responded to Rishi Sunak’s latest Budget, by saying it expected inflation to reach 4.4% while warning it could hit "the highest rate seen in the UK for three decades".
It came as Downing Street vowed to retaliate against France if Paris goes ahead with its "disappointing and disproportionate" threat to impose sanctions as a row over fishing boats escalates.
The French Government has dramatically warned it will block British vessels from some ports next week if there is failure to resolve a post-Brexit dispute over fishing licences.
Paris even went as far as suggesting it could restrict energy supplies to the Channel Islands if no deal is reached, as relations soured further.
No 10 responded by saying such threats do not seem to be compatible with "international law" and vowed an "appropriate and calibrated response" if Paris does not back down.
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