British Finance Minister Philip Hammond said that he feared the consequences on the economy and the public finances of a worst case no deal departure from the European Union as analysed in a fiscal risk report out on Thursday.

Hammond said that the report from Britain's Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) showed that even in the most benign version of a no deal EU exit there would be "a very significant hit to the UK economy".

Hammond said that the OBR was clear that in a less benign version of a no deal scenario, the hit to the economy would be much harder, causing a much deeper recession.

"So I greatly fear the impact on our economy and our public finances of the kind of no deal Brexit that is realistically being discussed now," Hammond told