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George Osborne: 'Britain is ready to confront what the future holds'

George Osborne has been seeking to reassure financial markets this morning following Britain's decision to leave the EU.

In a speech at The Treasury, the Chancellor said Britain is "ready to confront what the future holds for us from a position of strength" in his first public reaction to Brexit.

He also told journalists that any decision on an emergency budget would need to be taken by David Cameron's successor.

The UK's credit rating outlook was downgraded from "stable" to "negative" on Saturday in the wake of the referendum.

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Osborne 'hands post-Brexit emergency budget to next PM'

The Chancellor has said it is "perfectly sensible" to wait until there is a new prime minister before implementing an emergency budget.

Responding to a question by ITV News Business Editor Joel Hills about his earlier statement that Brexit would demand "an immediate response from government," George Osborne said that a financial contingency plan was in place and liquidity had been made available, but an emergency budget would be put in place in Autumn.

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