Britain: EU exit would be economic suicide, warns Nick Clegg

It would be "economic suicide" for Britain to leave the European Union, Nick Clegg has warned.

The deputy PM said a new "coalition in the national interest" was needed to make the case for membership, and asked businesses and charities to help.

He attacked David Cameron's proposed referendum, calling it a "short-sighted political calculation" which could see the UK "stumble out" of the EU.

Eurosceptic group Business for Britain accused Mr Clegg of "scaremongering".

In a speech at the London headquarters of Swiss technology firm Buhler Group, Mr Clegg said EU withdrawal would leave Britain "isolated and irrelevant in our own backyard" and not "taken seriously" by world superpowers.

Note EU-Digest: Nick  Clegg is right. British Nationalist Right Wing Eurosceptics don't seem to have a sense of reality, are acting irresponsible, and will drag Britain down the drain.

Read more: BBC News - EU exit would be economic suicide, warns Nick Clegg