EU referendum: Downing Street aides 'undermining' support for Out campaign

Senior aides to David Cameron are working behind the scenes to try to undermine support for the campaign fighting for Britain to leave the European Union.

Political aides in Downing Street are understood to be phoning around senior business executives asking them to pull out of a campaign organised by a group closely associated with the Out campaign. At the same time they are urging them to sign a letter backing David Cameron’s EU renegotiation stance.

Downing Street has always claimed that it is not taking sides in the referendum debate and will wait until after renegotiation is complete before deciding whether or not to recommend a vote to remain in the EU.

But the ring-round of businessmen suggests that behind the scenes No 10 is actively assisting the pro-EU camp while trying to undermine their rival.

All the executives contacted were signatories to a statement organised by the group Business for Britain, set up by Matthew Elliott, who founded the pressure group the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

The statement backed plans for a “national drive to renegotiate the terms of Britain’s membership of the EU” with “more powers devolved from Brussels” that was essential for “growth and jobs”.

It was signed by more than 100 senior businessmen – including a number of significant Tory donors including the head of JCB and the financier Adrian Beecroft.

But Mr Elliott has now become chief executive of Vote Leave, which hopes to become the official campaign fighting to take Britain out of the EU.

The campaign is closely linked with Business for Britain (BfB), and shares several of the same board members.

Downing Street aides are understood to be contacting business supporters of BfB and pointing out that it has now effectively been co-opted into the Vote Leave campaign and appealing to them to distance themselves from the group.

So far at least two prominent Tory supporters – Lord Harris of Peckham and Charlie Mullins, founder of Pimlico Plumbers – have disassociated themselves from BfB.

Another signatory to the statement, Sir Stuart Rose, has now emerged as chairman of the In campaign.

“This shows just how desperate they [the In campaign] are,” said a source in the Vote Leave campaign.

“We’ve been hearing that Downing Street is trying to get people to pull out of Business for Britain and sign a letter that they are organising backing Cameron.”