George Osborne: Risks of “very bad outcome” from ongoing Greek debt crisis have risen

Speaking in Istanbul, George Osborne told Bloomberg TV that there is a growing danger that the deadlock over Greece’s bailout programme spirals out of control.

British Chancellor warned that this could potentially be causing serious damage to the European economy, and the UK’s too.

“It’s clear that the risks to the world economy, the risk to the British economy of this standoff between the euro zone and Greece, is growing each day. The risks of a miscalculation or a misstep leading to a very bad outcome are growing as well.”

He said the UK had been arguing for both sides in the ongoing Greek crisis to “find some common ground”, during the G20 meeting of finance ministers in Turkey.

The comments come a day after prime minister David Cameron chaired a meeting of senior officials to discuss the impact on the UK of possible Greek exit from the eurozone.

Osborne was blunt about the risks that a disorderly Grexit would pose to the global economy. There’s “no doubt” that the UK economy would be affected by a renewed eurozone crisis, he told Bloomberg.

John Longworth, the head of the British Chambers of Commerce, sounds more optimistic than George Osborne about the Greek crisis, The Guardian says. In his opinion, British business wouldn’t actually be significantly hurt if Greece left the eurozone.

Longworth said the UK exports relatively little to Greece. And with the European financial system stronger than in 2012, a Grexit probably would be containable. However, it would be a very different matter if the crisis then spread to other European countries, Longworth added.