Chancellor Osborne Vows to Protect UK Economy From Greek Crisis' Risks

The UK government will take all necessary measures to protect the country from the consequences of the Greek economic crisis, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said Tuesday.

LONDON (Sputnik) – Osborne said in a statement on Monday that the Greek crisis was one of the biggest external economic risks to the British economy.

“We will take whatever further steps are needed to protect the UK from the new risks we see to our economic security,” Osborne said in a statement following the release of new UK economic statistics.

According to the country's National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s GDP rose 0.4 percent in the first quarter as compared to the previous three months. The UK economy expanded by 3 percent in 2014, its strongest performance since 2006.

Greece’s current bailout program expires on Tuesday, the same day that the country is due to make a $1.7- billion payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said earlier in the day Greece would not meet the Tuesday deadline for the IMF payment.