UK Treasury chief: keep British economy ‘anchored’ in Europe

BERLIN – Britain’s Treasury chief has told a German audience that his country wants to keep its economy “anchored” in the European mainstream as it leaves the European Union.

Philip Hammond said Tuesday at a conference organized by a group linked to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party that the British last year “voted to regain control of our borders, not to shut down the flow of people that are the lifeblood of our economy.”

Hammond stressed the need to avoid “a disruptive and dangerous cliff edge” as Britain negotiates its departure.

He said that “the risk of a bad outcome that does not promote jobs, growth and prosperity is a real one, not just for the U.K. economy but for the EU economy.”