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No 10 Did Not Push Business Leader, Says Fallon

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

John Longworth's comments suggest he believes Downing Street could have pressured the BCC (Taiwan OTC: 8325.TWO - news) to suspend him after he made comments in support of the UK leaving the EU during and interview on Sky (LSE: BSY.L - news) .

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.

:: BCC Chief's Departure Is Coup For Leave Camp

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

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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 to speak out on the issue because that is the very reason I have resigned."

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

He said: "The board of the BCC have made it very clear that this was their decision and there was no external pressure from anybody else.

"You get, I think, 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."

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.

His comments had been at odds with the majority of BCC members, who are in favour of staying in the EU, according to the organisation's own research.

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".

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."

Adam Marshall has been named acting director general of the BCC until a permanent replacement is appointed.