Greek crisis: UK stepping up contingency plans for Grexit says George Osborne
The government has started planning for a Greek exit from the Eurozone, George Osborne has confirmed.
Read more: European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says Greece has been misleading its voters
A Grexit would pose "serious economic risks" to the UK, the chancellor said today, as David Cameron prepares to discuss the crisis with Italy's Prime Minister Mario Renzi and Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.
Osborne said he will take "all steps" to protect the UK. Whitehall had already been taking preparatory steps since February, but has stepped up its planning recently as fears grow over Greece's precarious situation.
Although Greece has been on the brink for a while, the atmosphere surround negotiations has become frostier in recent days. The current bailout deal expires on 30 June, and if the two sides haven't reached consensus by then, Greece could default on its debts.
Yesterday Greece and the EU traded barbs, with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras saying the International Monetary Fund bears "criminal" responsibility for damage done to the Greek economy through austerity measures, and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker accusing the Greek government of misleading its voters over the proposals being tabled.