Unimaginable for UK to leave EU without a deal, says IMF chief

Christine Lagarde says quicker progress is needed in talks over Britain's EU exit and people must be put before business

Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund , has said it is unimaginable that Britain would leave the EU without a deal in March 2019, as she called for faster progress in the slow-moving Brexit talks.

Speaking in Washington on Thursday to mark the start of the IMF's annual meeting, Lagarde said negotiators had to put the interests of people before those of business, and that there was a need to end uncertainty.

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