Loss of access to single market would be catastrophic: UK foreign minister

LONDON British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Sunday it would be “catastrophic” for Britain to lose access to the European single market after it voted to leave the European Union.

Hammond, who campaigned for Britain to remain in the bloc, said Britain would not be able to keep access to the single market while also asserting complete control over migration from EU member states.

He said candidates to succeed David Cameron as Conservative Party leader and therefore as prime minister would have to make clear where they stood on the trade-off between controlling migration and retaining single market access.

Hammond said he would not be a candidate to lead the party and the country.

(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon- editing by Guy Faulconbridge)