Several top UK business leaders have backed a new report from Business for Britain (BfB) which states that if Britain cannot establish a new relationship within the EU, it should prosper outside it.

Read here: 'Top UK business figures Helen Morrissey and Mark Littlewood back calls for EU reform or Brexit'

Responding to a new report from Business for Britain, the pro-European business group Business for New Europe said that wishful thinking was not a convincing case for leaving.

Any deal for Britain outside the EU would have to be decided by the rest of Europe, so whatever picture Eurosceptics paint there is no guarantee of what Britain’s place outside would look like.

Campaign Director of Business for New Europe, Lucy Thomas, said:

“By painting a pretty picture of what kind of deal they’d like, Business for Britain are missing a vital point: the rest of Europe gets to decide what ‘Out’ looks like for us.  

“They are so caught up in getting us out that they’ve forgotten to check the details. If we vote to leave it isn’t Britain that decides what any new deal looks like, it’s the other EU leaders.

“Surely Britain’s best place is around the negotiating table arguing for a better deal rather than banging on the door from outside.”

Lucy Thomas, the Campaign Director of Business for New Europe, says David Cameron should push for changes that benefit businesses across Europe. 

Read here: 'Reform, not renegotiation'

Angela Merkel's speech to the German parliament shows that the renegotiation process will take time. 

Nissan, Ford and Airbus have made their views known but opinion in the corporate world is divided.

Read here: 'CEOs tiptoe through Brexit vote minefield'

Nigel Farage has said UKIP will "bust the myth" that leaving the EU would damage UK trade with other nations.

Read here: 'Ukip's Farage challenges EU trade "myths"'

BNE Campaign Director Lucy Thomas appeared on the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4, debating a new Ukip report claiming that leaving the EU would benefit the UK economy.

Listen here: 'Today Programme 17/06/2015'

The decision by ratings agency Standard and Poor's to cut the outlook for the UK economy to "negative" from "stable" shows just how damaging an exit from the EU could be, say pro-European businesses.

Business for New Europe's campaign director Lucy Thomas said: 

"This is a clear signal of how damaging it would be were Britain to leave the EU. Standard and Poor's are clear that this would risk growth prospects not only for financial services and export sectors, but the wider economy too.' 

"Why would we want to gamble with the future of our country when the damage could be so long-lasting and significant? Those who want us to walk away are fixated on an ideological mission, when the sensible and reasonable choice is to stay in and do what is best for Britain's future." 

Sainsbury’s has come under fire from a Ukip MEP who wrongly accused the supermarket of backing the campaign to stay in Europe.

Read here: 'Sainsbury's has last laugh after Ukip blunder over Europe poll'