The European Union will start disintegrating should Britons vote to leave the EU, Nigel Farage has claimed.

The Ukip leader added that British Prime Minister David Cameron should resign even if the Remain camp won by a narrow margin in a June 23 referendum on EU membership.

Bookmakers still predict Britons will vote to stay in the EU, while opinion polls have see-sawed - though one on Friday gave a 10 percentage point lead to the Leave side, for which Farage is a prominent campaigner.

Ukip's leader said David Cameron should resign even if the Remain camp won by a narrow margin in a June 23 referendum on EU membership

'We can't lose this referendum,' he told Italy's Corriere della Sera. 'There will be a Big Bang of British politics: nothing will remain the same.'

DYSON BOOST TO LEAVE CAMPAIGN Billionaire entrepreneur James Dyson has come out in favour of Britain leaving the European Union. Dyson told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that Britain has more to gain than to lose by quitting the EU. 'We will create more wealth and more jobs by being outside the EU than we will within it, and we will be in control of our destiny,' he said. 'And control, I think, is the most important thing in life and business.' Advertisement

He said he would 'destroy the old EU', together with Beppe Grillo, the leader of the Italian anti-establishment movement 5-Star.

'On June 19 the 5-Star movement elects the mayor of the capital and changes Italy,' Farage added. 'On June 23 Britain leaves the EU and changes Europe.

'We will trigger a domino effect. After us, other northern European countries will leave, starting with Denmark. The EU is about to collapse, disintegrating in several pieces.'

Municipal elections in Italy last Sunday put 5-Star candidate Virginia Raggi, 37, in the lead to become mayor of Rome ahead of the candidate from Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's centre-left Democratic Party.

The race will be decided by a run-off vote on June 19, four days ahead of the UK referendum on the EU.