London is at “immediate risk” of a hugely damaging £22 billion economic hit in the event of a worst-case scenario hard Brexit, a report warned today

 

The capital is more exposed than the rest of Britain to a chaotic cliff-edge departure from the European Union because of its heavy dependence on the services sector — particularly financial services — and its reliance on skilled workers from the Continent, it says.

 

This means that a “no-deal” scenario next March would see the capital’s economic growth slump into the slow lane compared with the rest of the UK, according to the study from the respected City forecasters CEBR.

 

It says Brexit could cost London 5.5 per cent of growth — equivalent to £22 billion of output — over 15 years. That is more than £2,500 for every man, woman and child living in London.

 

The report, Brexit And The Metropolitan Areas, commissioned by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, concludes that the economy of London, “is at immediate risk from Brexit if not handled carefully”.

 

The report, co-written by the CEBR’s chief economic adviser Vicky Pryce and its founder Doug McWilliams, says the effects could be mitigated by new trade deals and by cutting red tape and but says these “highly speculative” gains have to be compared with the “relatively certain” losses from lost EU trade and reduced migration.