Leaked Gov’t Report: Every Brexit Option Will Hurt U.K.

All of the United Kingdom’s plans for leaving the European Union will hurt the country’s economy, according to a government report reviewed by BuzzFeed News. The report, compiled by the Department for Exiting the European Union, explores the three options the country is most likely to pursue when exiting the Union. The most optimistic model would see the British economy grow 2 percent slower than current projections over the next 15 years. The other models show the economic growth slowing by 5 or 8 percent over that same time period. Leaving the EU could also have more dramatic short-term effects on the British economy, and could undercut London’s status as a global financial hub, the report warned. An official with the Department for Exiting the European Union told BuzzFeed the government had not made the report public “because it’s embarrassing.”