Britain falls out of world’s top five economies

This statement was issued by British Finance Minister Philip Hammond after the International Monetary Fund's statistics showed that the British economy had dropped to number 6.

Since the results of the Brexit referendum last year, the pound has weakened dramatically, consumer spending has slowed and prices have surged. On Wednesday, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) reduced the UK's growth forecasts for this year from 2% to 1.5%. Estimated growth is set at 1.4% for next year and 1.3% in 2019.