In the irony of all ironies Britain’s divorce from the European Union is now costing the country £350 million a week.

According to figures released in the Financial Times the value of Britain’s output is now around 0.9 per cent lower than was possible if the country had voted to stay in the EU.

That equates to almost exactly £350m a week lost to the British economy — an irony that will not be lost on those who may have backed Leave because of the claim made on the side of the bus.

Leave campaigners promised in the run-up to the election that Brexit would deliver millions back to the UK which could be invested in the NHS – a claim which has since been proved to be false.

Thanks to rebate money the UK actually only pays in around £199 million a week, although the precise amount of money the UK sends to the EU is difficult to calculate.

Economists for Brexit, a forecasting group, predicted that after a leave vote growth in GDP would expand 2.7 per cent in 2017.

The 2017 growth rate has actually slowed to 1.5 per cent at a time when the global economy is strengthening.

Growth in the UK will lag behind the rest of the Eurozone in 2018, according to the latest figures.

Barret Kupelian, a senior economist at PwC, said: “While the [global] growth outlook for 2018 is positive, there are some downside risks for business to bear in mind, including the progress of the Brexit negotiations and wider discussions about the future of the EU.”

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