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Wales could thrive as an independent nation as the Republic of Ireland has proven, believes one of Wales' most successful entrepreneurs David Buttress.

While Wales has devolved powers, Mr Buttress - who helped turned online food delivery firm Just Eat from a £36 revenue in its first month into a near £5bn valued global venture - said that the Welsh economy would be better served by having complete control, than under its current union with the other nations of the UK.

And Mr Buttress, who hails from Cwmbran and whose first name is actually Talfryn, said that the UK is danger of shooting itself "very firmly in the foot," by turning inwards through Brexit.

In a Joining the Dots podcast interview with Guto Harri for communications agency Hanover, Mr Buttress, who is also chairman of professional rugby union the Dragons, said: "I would like to see more devolution of power.

"So, I would like to see Wales as an independent country and I would like to see Scotland the same, as it would do them both well.

"I am very proud to be British, so it might sound a contradiction there, but if I was thinking about it from a strategic perspective, if I was Scots or Welsh, I would need financial independence, which economically you absolutely have to do.

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"And there is a very good reason why Wales, for example, I think suffers economically... because it is not an independent country it cannot set its own fiscal policy and investment agenda long-term properly, as it is all governed by Westminster.

"And frankly Westminster is not only focused on spending its time thinking about the Welsh economy, which desperately needs investment and long-term focus."

The former chief executive and co-founder of Just Eat, added:"So I think if you look at how Ireland has done over the last 10 to 20 years you can see the benefits of being an independent country versus being part of a union.

"So I would like to see Wales independent for sure, because I think it would do very well."

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Mr Buttress said that the UK economy would be undermined through a Brexit that puts up borders with the rest of the world and stems the flow of investment and entrepreneurial talent into the country.

On the UK economy he said: "It has got a lot more opportunity than people would probably perceive, but it is at tremendous risk at the moment of shooting itself very firmly in the foot.

"The British economy is very well-positioned and we often forget our position from a global perspective, both strategically and in the financial sector, as well as the underlying GDP of our country... we are a powerful financial country.

"We are also positioned in the technology sector extremely well in Europe, and London is a very attractive place for smart, bright entrepreneurs to come and grow and invest and get finance.

"So, if we could only harness and focus on that, as opposed to navel gazing around some of the stuff on Brexit, like for example some of the stupid issues we perceive around immigration, which I know are sensitive.

"But the truth is we need more talent and not less and our borders need to be more open and not less.

"If you want to put Britain at the centre of the world you've got to have that mindset now."

He said that the UK is currently world leading in areas ranging from universities and financial services, to technology and entrepreneurialism.

Again referring to Brexit he said:"I think our economy, perversely, is well-positioned, but we are in grave danger of ballsing that up.

"We need a very smart and good 18 months to two years and I think then we could do quite well, but I do fear, when I look at some of the narrative and direction, that we are about to do some stuff that potentially hurts our economy for the next five to ten years, which would be a shame."