Warning of sterling crisis 'should Johnson overplay Brexit threat as Covid-19 cases spike' 

British can ill afford to turn their back on striking a free trade deal with the EU because the Covid-19 spike in England and the effective isolation of the country for European flights had weakened its negotiating hand, says leading economist

British prime minister Boris Johnson's government will fear any renewed currency run because crises for the pound in previous decades had so badly scarred the country.

Britain could face a sterling crisis, with serious consequences for Irish business, because of the way it has overplayed its threat to crash out of the EU even as the Covid-19 health crisis puts further pressure on its economy, a senior Irish economist has warned.  

The warning comes as the cost of insuring against major falls for sterling over the coming weeks increased sharply. The EU said it was giving a “final push” in a bid to strike a Brexit trade deal with Britain, its chief negotiator Michel Barnier said, with the two sides inching towards agreement on fishing, though the politically sensitive matter remains unresolved.