Sir Richard Branson says the economy is 'f***ed'!

Sir Richard Branson has delivered a characteristically blunt verdict on the state of the economy, describing it as "f***ed". But Britain's cheeriest billionaire said that he hoped that the downturn might only last a couple of years instead of becoming a repeat of the Great Depression of the 1930s as so many economists now fear. The Virgin boss was asked his views on the economy by Five News. “I was going to say, it’s f***ed, but I think I had better not have said that,” he replied. He added: “I think it is a terrible, terrible mess, which has been brought upon us by some very irresponsible people in the banking community, some very lax regulation and we are going to have to work hard to dig ourselves out of it.

“I think governments have moved quickly and hopefully it will be a two-year, two or three-year nightmare not a 1929 nightmare. But we are all going to have to work very, very hard to get things back on the even level.” A spokesman for Sir Richard said: “He’s only saying what everyone’s thinking, in a more forthright way. He was making the point that the economy is in dire straits. It’s nothing that hasn’t been said every day for the last three months.”