“I would ask this question: we are only seven or eight weeks from the proposed date of exit. I wonder are we really thinking enough about the impact on people on the ground?”

Last year the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw their wealth decline by 11 per cent, while billionaires’ fortunes rose by a similar amount (12 per cent).

Crisis of leadership and income inequalities are among key issues under discussion at this year’s gathering of the world’s political and business elite.