WTO chief says ready to help UK and EU after Brexit vote

Now, Britain would have to renegotiate its relationship with the rest of the WTO

The World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Friday it was prepared to help Britain and the European Union (EU) after the vote to leave the bloc."The WTO stands ready to work with the UK and the EU to assist them in any way we can," WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said on Twitter.

Azevedo warned in a speech this month that British business competitiveness would suffer if Britons voted to leave the European Union. "While trade would continue, it could be on worse terms," he said at the time of a vote to leave the EU.

He has already said that Britain would have to renegotiate its relationship with the rest of the WTO, which could take years or decades.