Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the United Kingdom economy of a default in its international obligations by the government of Greece, and of a Greek exit from the euro.

The government has secured a deal that protects UK taxpayers from any risk from financing euro area bailouts now and in the future. This deal gives legal force to the commitment secured in 2010 that UK taxpayers would not be drawn into a euro area bailout. Under the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM) short term financing agreement concluded on Friday 17 July, Greece’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrears have also been cleared.

As the Chancellor has said, we should not underestimate the impact that a Greek exit from the euro area would have on the European economy – or the knock-on effects on the UK. But the economic plan we’ve pursued in Britain these last five years has increased our resilience – and we will take whatever further steps are needed to protect the UK from new risks to our economic security.