A senior aide to David Cameron gave a telephone dressing-down to the business chief who dared to speak out in favour of Brexit.

Daniel Korski, who is paid £93,000 a year, rang John Longworth just hours before the British Chambers of Commerce sensationally suspended him from his post as director general.

Friends of the businessman claim Mr Korski intervened to question why he was calling for Britain to leave the EU when the body had taken a neutral stance on the referendum.

Suspended British Chambers of Commerce director general John Longworth, pictured, was given a dressing down over the phone by a senior aide to the Prime Minister

Daniel Korski, pictured centre outside 10 Downing Street, made the call to Mr Longworth hours before he was suspended from his BCC job

Cabinet minister Chris Grayling, pictured, described the treatment of Mr Longworth as 'disgraceful'

Number 10 had repeatedly insisted no pressure was brought to bear, and the BCC claimed no politician had influenced its decision.

But yesterday’s revelation exposes their denials as weasel words. Cabinet minister Chris Grayling described the treatment of Mr Longworth, who resigned on Sunday, as disgraceful and spineless.

He added: ‘The fact a prominent business figure has stood up and said “I believe Britain should leave the EU” is a view we should be listening to.

‘The way the BCC has approached this in terms of just forcing him out has been wholly unacceptable.’

Employment Minister Priti Patel today branded the affair 'deeply, deeply regrettable'.

She said: 'We live in a democracy and John Longworth is an honourable man, he made it abundantly clear last week that his views were his own views, his personal views, he was not speaking on behalf of the British Chambers of Commerce.

'So I think it’s completely regrettable.'

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman yesterday declined to comment on the ‘private conversations’ of government officials.

And he claimed no one at Number 10 had put pressure on the BCC to remove Mr Longworth, or even discussed his position.

In another dramatic day in the referendum debate:

David Cameron was forced to hand £500million of UK taxpayers’ cash to Turkey;

The Bank of England was accused of ‘scaremongering’ for offering emergency cash to lenders ahead of the EU vote;

A woman Cabinet minister said the suffragettes did not fight and die only for power to be surrendered to Brussels;

A grim terror threat warning was seized on by senior MPs –who warned the migrant crisis could make the UK even more vulnerable to terrorism.

Mr Longworth yesterday said he did not know what pressure was applied by the Government.

But he said it was commonplace for No 10 to contact business organisations when they were unhappy and ‘express their views, sometimes very strong views and strident views’.

It comes as David Cameron, pictured, was forced to hand £500million in taxpayers' cash to Turkey over its demands to the EU over stemming the flow of migrants entering Europe

Tory grandee David Davis yesterday submitted questions under the Freedom of Information Act about the Government’s involvement in Mr Longworth’s removal.

He said: ‘The last thing we want to see is a witch-hunt against business leaders brave and astute enough to make the argument that Britain would be better off economically if it regained the power to strike its own trade deals and was freed of the crippling burden of red tape, costing many billions a year, imposed by Brussels.’

London mayor Boris Johnson said Mr Longworth’s removal was ‘very sad’ and urged him to join the Leave campaign.

The BCC was facing further questions about its own stance last night after it emerged that two senior figures have publicly backed the pro-EU Remain campaign, despite the organisation’s supposed neutrality.

Mr Longworth, pictured, said he did not know if any pressure was brought on the BCC by Number 10

Kent branch chairman Tim Allen and Cornwall branch chief executive Kim Conchie have both signed letters calling for Britain to stay in the Brussels club, without attracting any disciplinary action.

Speaking at the BCC’s annual conference last week, Mr Longworth said Britain could have a ‘brighter economic future for itself’ outside the EU.

He made it clear he was speaking in a personal capacity. But his comments angered some pro-EU members of the BCC as well as Downing Street.

Yesterday he said that he had resigned in order to speak out against the ‘hyperbole’ being peddled by the Government about the economic dangers of Brexit.

BCC president Nora Senior, a former adviser to Ed Balls, yesterday insisted ‘no politician or interest group’ had any influence on the organisation’s decision to suspend Mr Longworth.