Business and Economics

It came after the PM dressed up in full gear as he and the chancellor visited apprentices at the company's training academy.

Experts have forecast inflation will hit 4 per cent by the end of this year - far above the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target.

“We’ve already seen the number of people wanting to do their HGV driving test literally fall off a cliff, with only 9,000 being completed in 2019, that was before Brexit and it was well before Covid."

An additional £600m in costs hit British importers since Brexit came into force, taxes which were not required when Britain was in EU's single market.

"Pointless and byzantine" export rules have resulted in delays to fresh and chilled foods such as sandwiches getting to the shelves.

"Candidate shortages continue to plague businesses, who are all recruiting from the same pool of talent and struggling to fill gaps."

Many businesses have reported huge issues in their supply chains in recent months, leaving some shop shelves empty, or forcing restaurants to remove items from their menus.

One firm warned the staffing crisis has made milk shortages over the next few weeks inevitable.

“The UK is the only one of the 10 biggest countries to see this happen, with Brexit exacerbating the decline.”