LONDON, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The United Kingdom's (UK) economy is almost 140 billion British pounds (178.7 billion U.S. dollars), or 6 percent, smaller than it would have been because of Brexit, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said on Thursday.

       The country's departure from the European Union (EU) has also cost London's economy more than 30 billion pounds, Khan said during a speech in the City of London, quoting a report by Cambridge Econometrics commissioned by City Hall.

       "Brexit is simply not a peripheral concern that we can leave in the past -- it's a key contributor to the cost-of-living crisis right now and it's resulting in lost opportunities, lost business and lost income at a time when people and companies can least afford it," Khan said, according to an official statement.

       The average Briton was nearly 2,000 pounds worse off in 2023, while the average Londoner was nearly 3,400 pounds worse off last year as a result of Brexit, the report showed.

       The economic damage is only going to get worse, it added, noting that more than 300 billion pounds is set to be wiped off the value of the UK economy by 2035 if no action is taken. (1 British pound = 1.28 U.S. dollar)