‘Britain should receive sterling warning’

ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet should issue a warning to Britain to halt its “orderly” devaluation of sterling, according to one of the country’s top economists.

Dermot O’Leary of Goodbody Stockbrokers said the devaluation of the British pound has been carefully managed over the past nine to 12 months and it is time ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet issued a statement on the subject.

Mr O’Leary said: “The ECB is known as ‘the guardian of the euro’, so it would be important for President Trichet to make some sort of verbal intervention.