John Longworth: I would not rule out joining leave campaign

Former director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, John Longworth, has said he would "consider" becoming a spokesperson for the 'leave' Europe campaign following his controversial resignation.

Mr Longworth said he "would not be surprised" to hear from pro-Brexit groups and "would certainly put his weight behind the debate".

Speaking about the controversy surrounding his resignation, Mr Longworth said he left his position at the BCC "voluntarily" and "it was entirely my decision" but thanked London's mayor Boris Johnson for "his intervention over the weekend".

He added that he made up his mind about the UK being better off out of Europe, the day after the Prime Minister returned from Brussels following negotiations on reform.

Mr Longworth said: "I've always been in the position that I believe the very best place for the UK to be, would be in a reformed European Union, but it's very clear to me now that the European Union is incapable of meaningful reform...

"We won't fulfil our true potential as a country inside the European Union and in order to have the freedom to fulfil our potential and grow we need to be outside the European Union now".