This decision was never going to be easy for any of us. There were so many issues to contend with, so many differing views, so many scare stories about Brexit and contradictions on what the factual positions were on almost every topic, especially those relating to the economy.

I have been involved with the financial, economic and social assessments of a possible Leave decision for many years now and I believe, most passionately, that this country has a very positive and exciting journey ahead of it outside the European Union. 

However, as I have also always been candid about, this journey will not be without its challenges, especially during the initial period of uncertainty. Markets dislike uncertainty, as do investors and businesses, but these are the shorter- term risks and costs associated with an asymmetric shock and task of this order.

Read the whole article in The Telegraph by Michael Petley.