George Osborne attempts to calm markets

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has been conspicuous in his absence since the UK decided to leave the EU on Friday morning.

However, he made a statement before trading commenced in London today in an attempt to calm the tumultuous markets - the BBC reports. 

"I said we had to fix the roof so we were prepared for whatever the future held and thank goodness we did," he said.

On the process of the UK's departure from the EU, he said: "Only the UK can trigger Article 50. And in my judgement, we should only do that when there is a clear view about what new arrangements we are seeking with our European neighbours.