Britain suffers sovereign rating downgrade, stripped of triple-A rating

Zeebiz Bureau

London/New York: In a major blow to Britain, rating agency Moody’s downgraded the country’s sovereign credit rating, a news wire has reported.

Moody's stripped Britain of its triple-A rating which is the country’s first ever sovereign ratings downgrade.

Moody's said weak prospects for British economic growth, which have thrown the government's deficit reduction strategy off course, lay behind its decision to cut the rating by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa.

Austerity has been the watchword for Osborne's fiscal policy since his Conservative-led coalition came to power in 2010 after an election in which he vowed to defend Britain's triple-A rating, which can help keep down borrowing costs.

With Agency Inputs