Jacob Rees-Mogg: hard Brexit would boost UK by £135bn over five years

Pro-Brexit backbencher says dividend only possible with policy of free trade, reduced regulation and lower taxes

The UK economy could enjoy a post-Brexit financial dividend of 135bn in the five years after its departure from the EU, Jacob Rees-Mogg has said, an opinion that attracted a direct if brief endorsement from the Department for International Trade.

At a speech in London, the leading pro-Brexit backbencher lambasted what he called the "false assumptions" of Philip Hammond's Treasury before next week's budget, insisting that leaving the EU would provide a huge economic boost.