A war of words has broken out between businesses on either side of the Brexit debate as a group of European organisations call for Britain to remain in the EU while leading figures in the Commonwealth back the campaign to leave.
Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, and leaders of 20 other business federations across Europe have signed a letter calling for “ambitious reforms” to the EU and for “structural reforms” in its member countries.
If these improvements can be delivered at this week’s EU summit in Brussels, “European business strongly supports continued British membership”, the letter said.
The letter comes on the same day 80 prominent figures with ties to Commonwealth countries backed the Vote Leave campaign.
In an open letter to David Cameron, the signatories argued the referendum was “an opportunity to rediscover Britain’s global vocation”. They included Tariq Usmani, chief executive of developer Henley Homes; Sabiya Khan, chair of the British Muslim Women Forum; and Avtar Lit, founder of Sunrise Radio.
Their letter cited trade and immigration as two key areas where Britain would benefit from leaving the EU. [...]
Matthew Elliott, Vote Leave chief executive, criticised the CBI’s letter in support of the Remain campaign.
The CBI “has a strong record of getting it wrong on the EU, from the exchange rate mechanism to the euro”, he said. “They were wrong then and they are wrong now. The CBI’s seal of approval shows this is a bad deal for Britain.”
© Financial Times
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