Economy weaker due to Brexit, says Chancellor

RACHEL REEVES has said Brexit made the UK's economy and productivity "weaker" than initially forecast when the UK voted to leave the European Union.

- SOPHIE WINGATE

But the Chancellor expressed determination that "the past doesn't define our future" as she set out plans to scrap paperwork and red tape for thousands of UK businesses in a bid to boost lacklustre economic growth at the Regional Investment Summit in Birmingham yesterday.

The gathering of business leaders and investors came after more gloomy news for the Chancellor as UK Government borrowing in September hit the highest level for the month in five years.

The data from the Office for National Statistics piles more pressure on Ms Reeves ahead of the November 26 Budget, in which she will have to fill a black hole estimated at around £50bn by some economists.

Ms Reeves said the autumn statement will detail her "plans based on the world as it is, not necessarily the world as I might like it to be" as global volatility and a hike in defence spending "puts pressure on our economy".

She said exiting the EU had caused more damage than forecasters had expected at the time, with the expected downgrade of the budget watchdog's previous assumptions likely to make her task of balancing the books even harder.