He argued "trade follows mutual advantage" and European countries would not damage themselves by dumping valuable exports and partnerships with the UK.

Mr Howard said issues raised by Remain campaigners and the international community had been "overstated" and predicted a sensible process would see the transition turn out "a lot less painful than many people had argued".

As Britain, Europe and the world confront the fallout of Brexit - including political upheaval in London, the collapse of the British Pound, renewed calls for Scottish independence and global stock market volatility - the former Liberal PM dismissed economic concerns.

Former Prime Minister John Howard said the Brexit result was based on a "deep-seated" conservative and working class rejection of "the terms and conditions" of Britain's EU membership. Credit:Steven Siewert

"It was also a recognition that the European Union concept of having a monetary union without a fiscal union is doomed to failure."

In his view, the deal on the UK's membership of the EU negotiated by Prime Minister David Cameron prior to the referendum was an "insufficient reassertion of British sovereignty" and the eventual result left Mr Cameron with no alternative but to resign.

He said the Syrian refugee crisis was a "very large part of the backdrop" to last week's vote but that it didn't mean Leave supporters were unreasonable, racist or xenophobic but rather keen to keep an eye on the flow of migrants.

"It is not a rejection of immigration. In fact, it's a reaffirmation of the nation's determination to decide, as I declared and argued and as the current government does, that we'll decide who comes, the numbers, where they come from and what skills they bring with them," he said.

Admitting surprise that UK voters did ultimately decide to leave, Mr Howard asserted it shows how "deep the feeling was because you had all of these people saying don't and they still did".

"This was a dramatic reminder to all political leaders around the world that, if you live in a democracy, you've always got to listen very carefully to what people are saying and thinking over a long period of time," he said.