IMF boss praises UK recovery, hopes it will remain part of EU

Head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde has praised the UK for its recovery from the financial crisis and said she hoped that people will vote to keep its place in the European Union (EU) in the upcoming referendum.

Lagarde was presenting the IMF's concluding statement of its annual assessment of the UK economy.

"Certainty is always better than uncertainty," the managing director told the audience.

She said that on a personal basis she was "very, very much hopeful that the UK stays within the EU".

In the report, the fund warned that "uncertainty associated with the outcome of the planned referendum on EU membership could weigh on the outlook".

Lagarde added that the IMF was planning to prepare for various outcomes of the referendum in next year's assessment.

She said the UK had "managed to repair the damage of the crisis", which was something only "very few" other countries had achieved.

"The UK’s recent economic performance has been strong, and considerable progress has been achieved in addressing underlying vulnerabilities," the report read.

"Steady growth looks likely to continue over the next few years, and inflation should gradually return to target."

However, it also warned that there continue to be "a number of risks to this broadly positive outlook".

Chancellor George Osborne said the report "could hardly be more positive".