Chief executive Douglas McWilliams said the euro has an 80 per cent chance of failing in its present form in the next 10 years. He said living standards would have to fall by about 15 per cent in the weaker economies and Government spending slashed if the single currency was to survive.

Mr McWilliams added: “There is no modern history of falling living standards in peacetime on the scale necessary to keep the euro in its current form…“