No 10 Presses Business Groups, Says Longworth

Number 10 routinely presses business leaders with its "strident views" the former director general of the British Chambers of Commerce has told Sky News.

John Longworth's comments suggest he believes Downing Street could have pressured the BCC to suspend him after he made comments in support of the UK leaving the EU during an interview on Sky.

Mr Longworth announced he had resigned from his role on Sunday after claims that Number 10 had nobbled the organisation's board to force him out.

A Number 10 spokeswoman admitted there had been a conversation between an official and the business group but refused to give a "blow-by-blow" account of discussions and denied there was any pressure for Mr Longworth to be suspended.

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Speaking to Sky News, Mr Longworth disclosed that Government departments regularly tried to put pressure on business leaders.

He said: "What I can say is, of course, that Government departments, including Number 10, from my experience, actually contact business representatives all the time and express their views, sometimes very strong views and strident views.

"But I have to say in my experience it has never affected my judgement. I have always represented business views without fear or favour."

He said he would certainly consider joining the Leave campaign and added: "I am certainly going to speak out on the issue because that is the very reason I have resigned."

Meanwhile, a Sky Data poll has shown that 60% of people think the Remain campaign is using more scaremongering techniques - 40% think Leave is.

It also suggested 52% of the 1,478 people asked though the tactic was ineffective, with just 48% saying it was effective.

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Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told Sky News earlier that claims that Downing Street put pressure on the BCC were a conspiracy theory.

"People who want to leave Europe, to vote no in the referendum, are seeing conspiracy theories everywhere now because they don't want to answer the basic question, which is, if you leave Europe where are you going?

"They have to start answering these questions instead of coming up with rather bizarre conspiracy theories that here the British Chambers of Commerce have flatly denied," he said.

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Mr Longworth was suspended for speaking out in support of Brexit because it did not reflect the group's view - the majority are in favour of remaining in the EU and the organisation was to remain neutral.

The business group has denied being influenced by politicians or interest groups.

A BCC spokesman said Mr Longworth has accepted that his sympathy for the Out campaign was "likely to create confusion" over the group's official stance.

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Boris Johnson had described the BCC's decision to suspend Mr Longworth as "absolutely scandalous" and said he had been "crushed by the agents of Project Fear".

Speaking to Sky News on Monday he said: "I think it's very sad that somebody like John Longworth, who has given a lot of time, a lot of thought to the needs of British business and industry should be basically pushed out for saying what he thinks."

Leader of the House of Commons Chris Grayling, who is part of the Vote Leave campaign, told Sky News: "The fact that a prominent business figure has stood up and said 'I believe Britain should leave the EU' is a view we should be listening to and certainly the way the BCC has approached this in terms of just forcing him out has been wholly unacceptable and in my view has brought that organisation into some degree of disrepute."

UKIP MP Douglas Carswell tweeted: "Well done Downing Street. You got your man. This is what Project Fear looks like. Nasty people in Number 10."