There are already signs that leading academics from abroad are not taking up posts at British universities until they know the results of the referendum next month. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Baron Willetts said cutting ties with the rest of Europe will make it more expensive for Britain to take part in collaborative research.

Ahead of a debate on the influence of the EU on British education, he said: “The argument has been focused too far on the financial returns, though it is true we get more back from the EU research budget that we put in because of the quality of our university research but I see it above all about free movement of students and academics.

He said the position of international companies that have research and development units in the UK, such as Siemens, would be compromised because “the flow of investment in and out of the UK” would be at risk. Asked if that meant some facilities would shut down, he said: “That would be a risk.” He highlighted the European Bio-informatics Institute outside Cambridge and the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy near Oxford as two research centres that would suffer after a Brexit.

Cameron and Osborne attacked over 'propaganda filled' Brexit report

More than 800,000 people could lose their jobs because of the "severe" economic shock of a Brexit, the Treasury has said as it warned that Britain will face a recession as deep as it did in the early 1990s.

Today both the Prime Minister and Chancellor claimed Britain will be plunged into a recession "of its own making" if the country votes for Brexit.

Responding to the report Boris Johnson accused the government of putting out more "propaganda than we have seen" at any time since 1992.