The Cypriot banking crisis is a reminder to the United Kingdom that there is “no alternative” to the economic course set by the coalition, David Cameron has claimed.
During a visit to Ipswich on Monday, the Prime Minister said he was glad that savers with less than £100,000 in their accounts would be spared the one-off levy and insisted the Government was doing everything it could to protect soldiers and staff on the island.
But the turmoil in Cyprus highlighted a couple of home truths for Britain, he said in a question-and-answer session after a speech on immigration.
“It is good that an agreement has been reached overnight and I think that is welcome for people in Cyprus,” Mr Cameron said. “I think the first proposals of taxing people with bank accounts under £100,000 was a complete mistake and I am glad that has been avoided.
“I think, from Britain’s point of view, the situation in Cyprus is a reminder of a couple of important home truths. The first is it was right not to join the euro we are better off outside the euro. We can have our own economic policy, our own monetary policy and mend our fragile economy, which is badly in need of mending.
“But I think the second lesson is that while it is very difficult, there isn’t an alternative to getting on top of our deficit, to getting our public spending under control, to making our economy more prone to growth. Those difficult steps the Government’s taking, there is no alternative to that.
“I think people can see that when they switch on their televisions and see what is happening in other parts of Europe.
“Certainly, we are good friends of the people of Cyprus, we have many connections there, we have many British people living there and we also have the direct responsibility for the soldiers and MoD personnel, the Foreign Office personnel, and we have made very clear that they will be properly protected and we are doing everything we can on that front.”