Despite fall in trade, LSE study says overall impact was more limited than OBR forecasters first estimated

• Business live – latest updates

The damage from Brexit to trade links with the EU cost the UK £27bn in the first two years, but the overall impact was more limited than forecasters first estimated, according to the most comprehensive review of the issue since Britain fully left the bloc at the start of 2021.

Researchers based at the London School of Economics found that trade barriers had been a “disaster” for small businesses and forced thousands to stop trading with EU nations.