IMF urges Osborne to ease tough austerity measures

Chancellor George Osborne should be ready to slow the pace of his tough austerity measures and shake up the annual budget if the economy fails to come to life, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.

The IMF, led by former French finance minister Christine Lagarde, said the Government should ease its fiscal consolidation, which includes spending cuts and tax reforms, if the recovery continues to stall.