Eurozone not viable, says fund boss

The eurozone is not viable in its current form, one of the UK's most successful fund managers has warned.

Neil Woodford, who set up his own investment firm last year, said the concept was "fundamentally flawed" and he expected the "stresses and strains" in the area to continue to increase.

"In a very simple sense pretending that Greece was Germany is a fundamental error," he said.

He also said uncertainty over Britain's EU membership could hit the UK economy.

The Conservative Party has promised to hold an in-out referendum on the UK's continuing membership of the EU if it wins this year's general election.

The referendum would be held only after David Cameron, if he is still prime minister after May, had attempted to renegotiate the terms of the UK's membership of the EU.

"The likelihood of a referendum, I think, will put a brake on external investment, international investment in the UK... it will create uncertainty," Mr Woodford told the BBC's Hardtalk programme.