Pound drops to 2017 lows after government contempt vote

The pound briefly dropped to April 2017 lows against the dollar on Tuesday.

This was after MPs found the government in contempt of Parliament for not publishing its full legal advice on Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

Sterling then recovered after an amendment on handing Parliament a greater say, should the Brexit deal be defeated on 11 December, was approved.

The pound briefly dropped against the dollar to $1.2660, before climbing back to $1.2709 to trade flat.

Over the past few months the pound has been rocked by political turmoil as Theresa May tries to win support for her Brexit deal.

In November, the pound and shares in housebuilders and banks fell sharply after Brexiteer cabinet ministers Dominic Raab and Esther McVey quit.

Meanwhile, concerns about growth, doubts about a US-China trade truce, and the recovery of the pound drove the FTSE 100 down on Tuesday.