Business leaders call for second referendum on Brexit More than 70 business leaders have signed a public letter calling for a People’s Vote on Brexit

More than 70 business leaders have signed a letter calling for a People’s Vote on the UK’s Brexit deal.

The group, which includes the chief executive of Waterstones and the former Sainsbury’s boss Justin King, plans to launch its ‘Business for a People’s Vote’ campaign on Thursday.

Their letter demands that the Prime Minister rejects a “destructive hard Brexit” that will hurt the British economy.

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‘Business for a People’s Vote’ has been working alongside the official People’s Vote campaign, which wants a vote on the terms of any exit deal negotiated by the government.

Other leading businesspeople who have signed up to the initiative include Lord Myners, former Marks and Spencer chairman, Richard Reed, co-founder of Innocent Drinks, and Lastminute.com’s Martha Lane Fox.

What the letter says

The letter reads: “The business community was promised that, if the country voted to leave, there would continue to be frictionless trade with the EU and the certainty about future relations that we need to invest for the long term.”

The letter adds that “the proposals being discussed by the government and the European Commission fall far short of this.”

“We are now facing either a blindfold or a destructive hard Brexit. Given that neither was on the ballot in 2016, we believe the ultimate choice should be handed back to the public with a People’s Vote.”

“The uncertainty over the past two years has already led to a slump in investment.”

Speaking to the BBC about the new movement behind a People’s Vote, Waterstones chief executive James Daunt said: “All the paper we use is imported. We rely on just-in-time methods and now there are multiple uncertainties.”

The PM’s reaction

Prime Minister Theresa May has rejected all calls for a second referendum.

Her latest plan for Brexit would resolve the Northern Irish border problem with customs checks happening in factories rather than at the border.

A Downing Street source told the BBC: “The Prime Minister has been clear – no ssecond referendum. We had a people’s vote, it was in June 2016.”