The pound is on the brink of a collapse which will herald a downturn worse than 2008/9, warns George Soros' former business partner.

Billionaire Jim Rogers says the currency collapse will foreshadow a global economic winter which could hit before the end of the year, and make the last two years seem like "a mild spring day".

He says: "In real terms, the pound is already devalued against virtually every currency barring the Zimbabwean dollar and it is especially exposed over the weeks running up to the UK election.

"In a basket of currencies, the pound is potentially a basket case. And that will put Britain in an extremely bad position for the shakedown."

Rogers' forecast comes as Swiss bank UBS warns of a possible run on the pound, if the Tories enact their promise to cut the public deficit by immediately slashing spending following a win at the next General Election.

Sterling hit a nine month low against the dollar on Friday.

Rogers says a currency crash and then a full scale global "shakedown" are almost inevitable.

"The last few months have seen a ‘false bounce', shorn up by massive short-term injections of government underwriting," says Rogers.

"But it can't last. We've been applying temporary sticking plasters, not long-term cures. Later this year we'll see the start of the real recession, with more Lehman-scale disasters and a fallout which won't stop until the underlying malaise is genuinely cured."

"The euro has real problems, with cracks much wider than Greece beginning to show, but it's the pound that's most vulnerable."

Rogers clashed with Lord Mandelson last year after he predicted Britain would lag far behind other economies in returning to growth.

http://www.ifaonline.co.uk/ifaonline/news/1593729/pound-collapse-weeks-warns-soros-partner