(MENAFN- AFP) British leaders battled to calm markets and the country Monday after its shock vote to leave the EU, while insisting London would be not rushed into a quick divorce.
Finance minister George Osborne said Britain's economy was "as strong as could be" to deal with the fallout of Thursday's momentous Brexit vote, which has already sent financial markets into tailspin.
Britain's historic decision to be the first country to leave the 28-nation bloc has sent shockwaves through the political and economic fabric of the nation and claimed the scalp of Prime Minister David Cameron.
It has also fuelled fears of a break-up of the United Kingdom with Scotland eyeing a new independence poll, and created turmoil in the opposition Labour party where leader Jeremy Corbyn is battling an all-out revolt.
In his first public comments since the vote, Osborne said: "I want to reassure the British people, and the global community, that Britain is ready to confront what the future holds for us from a position of strength."
But despite his soothing words, shares in banks, airlines and property companies plunged on the London stock exchange as investors singled out those three sectors as being the most vulnerable to the Brexit vote.
- Await 'clear view' -
The reassurance halted the fall of sterling, which collapsed by 10 percent on Friday, but only temporarily as it then plunged again to its lowest level against the dollar in almost 31 years.
Leading Leave campaigner Boris Johnson also struck a conciliatory tone, insisting: "I cannot stress too much that Britain is part of Europe, and always will be."
He also attempted to reach out to the 48 percent of Britons who voted to stay in the EU, urging Brexit supporters to "build bridges" with pro-EU "neighbours, brothers and sisters".
But underscoring the sense of uncertainty, a new survey Monday showed that one fifth of British business leaders are considering moving operations abroad after the Brexit vote, and that one in four planned to freeze recruitment.
With jitters rattling the markets, attention turned to what happens next, with both London and Brussels in uncharted waters.
EU leaders have urged a swift divorce amid fears a drawn-out process could imperil the integrity of the 28-nation alliance.
"The last thing Europe needs is to start a year-long discussion on (the negotiation) procedures" for Brexit, said Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
But Cameron has said negotiations on Britain's departure must wait until a successor is chosen from his Conservative party, which could be as late as October.
And Osborne stressed Britain would not be rushed into activating Article 50 of the 2007 Lisbon Treaty, which sets the clock ticking on the two-year period to negotiate its divorce from the EU.
"Only the UK can trigger Article 50, and in my judgement, we should only do that when there is a clear view about what new arrangement we are seeking with our European neighbours," he said.
In Rome, US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed regret at the outcome of the vote and vowed Washington would maintain close ties with the alliance.
"Brexit and the changes that are now being thought through have to be thought through in the context of the interests and values that bind us together with the EU," he said.
Kerry was due in London later in the day after a stop-off in Brussels, while the leaders of Germany, France and Italy will meet in Berlin amid fears Britain's vote to leave will create a domino effect in eurosceptic member states.
In what promises to be one of the bitterest summits in the EU's history, Britain's prime minister will then face huge pressure in Brussels on Tuesday to immediately trigger the two-year exit process.
- Common values -
The domestic political ramifications were reverberating, with both main parties in turmoil and the prospect of a second referendum on Scottish independence looming large.
In London, possible candidates to succeed Cameron, including Johnson, began sounding out support over the weekend.
Perhaps with an eye on Remain voters, Johnson wrote in his Daily Telegraph column that the "negative consequences are being wildly overdone, and the upside is being ignored".
"The only change -- and it will not come in any great rush -- is that the UK will extricate itself from the EU's extraordinary and opaque system of legislation," Johnson wrote.
On the other side of the political divide, the opposition Labour party lurched deeper into crisis with a string of resignations from the Shadow Cabinet piling the pressure on Corbyn.
A no-confidence motion against his leadership is expected to be discussed at a party meeting Monday but Corbyn has steadfastly refused to step down.
Meanwhile, north of the border, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said a second independence vote was now "highly likely", and a meeting of her cabinet on Saturday agreed to start drawing up the necessary legislation.
Scots voted by 62 percent to stay in the EU, and the prospect of being pulled out against their will has renewed support for independence.
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