The leader of a top UK business group is hitting out at MPs over their handling of Brexit, saying they “cannot keep chasing rainbows”.

Dr Adam Marshall, the director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, will use a speech to his organisation’s annual conference in London to say that leaving the EU without a deal would be a “flagrant dereliction of duty”.

He called on politicians to start making tough decisions.

He will give the address at the QEII Conference Centre in Westminster – in the shadows of the House of Commons where, the previous evening, MPs failed to support any one of the so-called indicative votes on their preferred Brexit option.

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The UK was supposed to be leaving the EU on Friday – 29 March – but all options remain on the table after the departure was delayed due to a lack of support for the prime minister’s Withdrawal Agreement.

As things stand, Theresa May’s deal with Brussels must be passed by the end of this week if the UK is to secure the EU’s offer of an automatic Brexit delay to 22 May.

Brexit day is currently set for 12 April which will, as things stand, see the UK leave the EU without a deal unless the government succeeds in applying for more time.

Dr Marshall – along with his counterparts at other major business groups – had declared that the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement were acceptable to corporate Britain.

But they have hit out at the continuing uncertainty around the UK’s departure, arguing almost three years of it has already badly damaged investment and the UK’s reputation.

They say a no-deal divorce would hurt demand further and leave firms scrambling to operate under a new tariff regime.

Dr Marshall will tell his audience in London: “Too many critical questions remain unanswered. No-one would run
a business like this, and it is no way to run a country.

“It cannot be right that we leave in a way where government itself predicts there will be mass disruption to businesses and communities.

“It cannot be right that some in Westminster shrug off the possibility of shortages that could affect the well-being and the jobs of many people.

“A messy and disorderly exit would not just be deeply irresponsible, it would be a flagrant dereliction of duty.

“But we in business must make it clear that our elected representatives cannot keep chasing rainbows.

“Like all of us in business, they need to start making tough decisions, however personally or politically difficult they might be.

“Because all of us in business want to move on from this and get back to talking about creating the best possible environment for businesses to thrive, in every part of the United Kingdom.”

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