PM delivers a speech challenging '˜myths' from Leave camp

The Prime Minister dismissed claims by the Leave camp that quitting would lead to a bonfire of regulations as “very, very weak” and insisted three million jobs were linked to membership.

Striking a deal on services from outside the EU would take longer than an agreement on goods because other countries, such as Italy, would want to gain advantage from Britain’s exit, he warned.

“We may have a deficit in the sale of goods when it comes to the EU but we have a very large surplus when it comes to services and one of the things that I think we should fear is that, of course, if we left the EU they might offer us a deal on goods, but it might take a very long time before they offered a deal on services,” he said. “You can almost imagine the thrill and excitement of service businesses in Italy, France and Germany and elsewhere, saying okay, let’s cut a deal with Britain on trade in goods but hold back the trade in services so we can fill all of those insurance and banking and other service industries at which Britain is so good.”

Mr Cameron also suggested Islamic State (IS) would be happy if the UK votes to leave. Answering questions at Mansion House, the Prime Minister He then said Russian president Vladimir Putin would welcome such an outcome, before adding that “I suspect [Abu] al-Baghdadi” would, too (leader of IS).