Vote Leave attacks IFS thinktank over Brexit austerity prediction

Campaigners slam Institute for Fiscal Studies as 'paid-up propaganda arm' of EU after it predicted hole in UK public finances

The Vote Leave campaign has dismissed the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies as a "paid-up propaganda arm" of the European Union after the thinktank said that leaving the EU would extend austerity by two years.

In a report, the IFS, which has built a reputation for independence, said Brexit would result in lower GDP growth and extra borrowing costs that would knock a 20bn-40bn hole in the government's finances by 2020.

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