A former Conservative minister has been accused of trying to intimidate business by threatening bosses that they will pay a “very dear economic and financial price” for speaking out in support of the European Union and warning them not to “meddle in politics”.
John Redwood, a former Welsh secretary and leading eurosceptic, suggested that chief executives who interfered in the debate could even lose their jobs in the face of a backlash orchestrated by the anti-European lobby.
The attack at the Tory party conference echoed remarks by Jim Sillars, the former deputy leader of the Scottish National Party, before Scotland’s vote on independence. Mr Sillars said that companies would face a “day of reckoning” if they spoke out for the Union.
Mr Redwood’s comments provoked