UK business boss quits over Brexit spat
The head of one of the UK’s biggest business groups has resigned from his job after speaking in favor of Britain's exit from the European Union.
John Longworth, the director general of British Chambers of Commerce, had been earlier suspended following the controversy over his suggestion that the UK could have a “brighter” future outside the EU.
Longworth told reporters at the BCC’s conference last week that Britain would be left “sitting on the margins” of an “unreformed EU” if voters chose to remain in the EU at the 23 June referendum, the Guardian reported.
Reports say Longworth resigned after he breached the group's neutral stance on the in-out referendum.
After his resignation was announced, Longworth criticized Prime Minister David Cameron, who argues that Britain's national security and economic stability would be at risk if it votes to leave the 28-nation EU.
He has reportedly accused Cameron of trying to scare voters into supporting continued EU membership.
"It is highly irresponsible of the government of the country to be peddling hyperbole," Longworth told the Daily Telegraph newspaper in an interview published on Monday.
"If the government keeps peddling the line that it will be a disaster if we leave, which it actually won't be, they are going to put the country in a position where it will be damaged if we do."
Longworth's comments mark the latest spat in what is becoming an increasingly divisive battle over Britain's future in the EU.
Polls show public opinion is finely balanced and the issue has split senior members of Cameron's cabinet, pitting him against popular London Mayor Boris Johnson, AFP reported.
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