Theresa May says no-deal Brexit 'not the end of the world'

UK Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday that a no-deal Brexit "wouldn’t be the end of the world", in what some observers said was an attempt to downplay the warning issued by Chancellor Philip Hammond during the previous week.

Speaking to reporters at the start of a three-day trip to Africa, May said that crashing out of the EU without a deal would not be "a walk in the park", but argued that the UK economy could still benefit from such an unprecedented situation.

The prime minister said: "Look at what the director general of the World Trade Organisation has said. He has said about the no-deal situation that it will not be a walk in the park, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

"What the government is doing is putting in place the preparation such that if we are in that situation, we can make a success of it, just as we can make a success of a good deal."

Hammond said last week that no-deal Brexit would cost the country an extra £80bn in borrowing by 2030 and inhibit long-term economic growth.

The Prime Minister also said she believed the Chancellor was talking about figures from January that were a "work in progress at that particular time".

May also said the government is "working to the October deadline because from our point of view there is some legislation we have to get through parliament" in order to complete the UK's exit for March 2019.

On her trip to Africa, the PM will visit South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, where she will unveil her plans to boost Britain’s investment in the continent post-Brexit.