British business leaders press for free-trade deal with EU

Respected British business leaders on Wednesday urged their counterparts in EU member nations to press their governments for a free-trade deal with Britain.

The London-based campaign group, Leave Means Leave, which was founded by these business leaders, seemed to bypass officials in Brussels and instead make their plea to the CEOs of chambers of commerce across Europe.

The campaign group has written to the Chambers of Commerce, of all 27 EU member states, to make a case for a "sensible agreement regarding the terms of Britain's exit from the EU".

Leave Means Leave officials will be embarking on a tour of many of the Chambers of Commerce in Europe in the New Year to reinforce the message "that a zero tariff deal is mutually beneficial".

In the letter, they warned that as many EU member states export such significant amount of goods to Britain, any trade barriers implemented by the European Commission "will have a detrimental effect on jobs and prosperity in a number of EU states".

Leave means Leaves is backed by more than 30 influential political and business leaders, including a number of former government ministers.

It was set up to ensure Britain makes a swift, clean exit from the EU following the Brexit vote in the June 23 British referendum. It wants Britain to leave the European single market and the customs union. Endit