IMF chief Christine Largarde has urged British voters to have the “courage” to vote the right way next week, leaving little doubt that this means rejecting Brexit.

In a speech in Vienna, Mme Lagarde insisted the IMF had adopted a “neutral” position but then referred to a previous assessment by the international body, backing Remain, and said: “We have already been on record that the economic risks of leaving are firmly to the downside. There is a clear case as to how the UK has benefited and will continue to benefit from its membership in the European Union.”

She explained that being part of the EU had greatly helped the “transformation of the UK” into a dynamic and vibrant economy.

“The UK,” she said, “has benefited from the many contributions of talented and hard-working migrants from all over the world, including the EU, while providing record-high levels of employment for all its residents.”

Mme Lagarde recognised that as in all countries, there were people who were struggling in this new globalised environment, but stressed that for the majority of citizens, it had been a “great success story”.

However, she noted how too many Europeans were worried about their cultural identity, their security, their jobs, incomes, and living standards.

“And too many of them,” added the IMF chief, “are led to believe that things would be better if only Europe returned to closed borders and economic nationalism.

Amid the self-imposed restriction on referendum campaigning Vote Leave hit back with its chief executive Matthew Elliott saying: “The IMF has chosen to ignore the positive benefits of leaving the EU and instead focused only on the supposed negatives.

“If we Vote Leave, we can create 300,000 jobs by doing trade deals with fast growing economies across the globe. We can stop sending the £350 million we pay Brussels every week. That is why it is safer to Vote Leave,” he added.