Brexit has imposed ‘costs’ on UK economy, Jeremy Hunt admits

Chancellor claims EU withdrawal is not ‘the biggest issue’ holding back UK growth

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has accepted that Brexit has imposed “costs” on the UK, but insisted he did not believe EU withdrawal would make Britain poorer in the long run.

Challenged by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Hunt did not deny that the UK economy had grown less strongly since the formal departure date almost three years ago than it would have done if Britain had remained in the European trading bloc.

But he blamed the Covid pandemic for preventing the UK from taking advantage of the “opportunities” that he claimed were offered by Brexit.