Was the IMF wrong about Brexit risks?

AS THERE has been no tangible economic catastrophe or political cataclysm following the decision to leave the EU, it’s right to celebrate the restoration of British constitutional sovereignty and legal autonomy. Instead of dwelling on doomladen narratives peddled by groups such as the IMF, the World Bank, the EU, the U.S. and other elites, the public should embrace the Brexit new dawn. A post-EU Britain will regain its global independence and can foster international stability. In a world where the U.S., Russia, China and the EU are major players, a post-Brexit UK can evolve into an equally effective power bloc with the revival and strengthening of the British

Commonwealth. By capitalising on historic and cultural links with its former imperial possessions, this New Commonwealth, with its two billion population and swiftly emerging markets, can become a viable alternative to the declining European single market.

Dr T. HARGEY, Muslim Educational Centre, Oxford. THE clowns who run the International Monetary Fund admit they got the effects of brexit wrong (Mail). Why is IMF managing director Christine Lagarde held in such high regard when she gets every important forecast so wrong?

L. STAFFORD, Seaford, E. Sussex. THE chief economist of the IMF recently cut the UK growth forecast to 1.7 per cent this year and 1.3 per cent in 2017. Forecasts normally update for new data, but some have taken the opportunity to mislead people by saying the IMF predicted recession if the UK voted Leave and are now claiming the IMF got it wrong. In early June, IMF staff assessed UK growth prospects under two illustrative scenarios for exit, neither of which have actually happened because Article 50 might not be triggered until next year. The main June report for the UK predicted 2016 growth of 1.9 per cent to 2.2 per cent, contingent on the UK remaining in the EU. Experts don’t seek wilfully to misguide and can make their own assessments.

SAMEEN FAROUK, Portsmouth, Hants.