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| Moody's rating agency places UK on negative outlook | Moody's rating agency places UK on negative outlook |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The US credit ratings agency, Moody's has placed the UK on negative outlook. | |
| France and Austria, who also share a top triple A rating, have been similarly graded. | |
| The credit ratings of Italy, Spain and Portugal have been downgraded. | |
| In a statement, Moody's blamed the euro area crisis for the adjustments citing the "susceptibility (of selected EU countries) to the growing financial and macroeconomic risks emanating from it." | |
| Responding to the ratings decision by Moody's the Chancellor of the Exchequer said: "This is proof that, in the current global situation, Britain cannot waiver from dealing with its debts." | |
| The coalition government has come under increasing pressure to ease up on its austerity measures in the face of growing unemployment and stalled economic growth. | |
| The Chancellor's statement added: "Moody's are explicit that it is only the Government's 'necessary fiscal consolidation' that is stopping an immediate downgrade, which would happen if there were any 'reduced policitcal commitment to fiscal consolidation'. | |
| "This is a reality check for anyone who thinks Britain can duck confronting its debts." | |
| The BBC's economics editor Stephanie Flanders said that the negative outlook for the UK means Moody's think there is a 30% chance of a downgrade within 18 months. | |
| A negative outlook is not the same as negative watch which means a more than 50% chance of a downgrade. |