Brexit campaigners have gained a controversial supporter in the form of Donald Trump.
The Republican party’s presumptive presidential nominee, who is likely to face Hillary Clinton in the running for the top White House job, has said the UK would be “better off without” the European Union.
The billionaire businessman said that migration had been a “horrible thing for Europe” and blamed the EU for driving it.
Mr Trump, who has a number of businesses and investments in Britain, said that he was not making a “recommendation” but his “feeling” was that the UK should vote to sever ties with Brussels next month.
His intervention comes after President Barack Obama and the Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, expressed support for the campaign for Britain to stay in Europe.
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Mr Trump told Fox News: “I think the migration has been a horrible thing for Europe, a lot of that was pushed by the EU.
“I would say they are better off without it, personally, but I’m not making that as a recommendation, just my feeling.
“I know Great Britain very well, I know the country very well, I have a lot of investments there.
“I would say that they are better off without it, but I want them to make their own decision.”
The maverick politician’s comments come after David Cameron said he deserved “respect” for emerging as the Republican presumptive nominee for the US presidency.
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Mr Cameron has faced calls from the Trump camp to apologise after he branded the Republican’s call for foreign Muslims to be temporarily banned from entering America as “stupid, divisive, and wrong” in the Commons last December.
At a Downing Street press conference Mr Cameron stood by his comments, but said: “It is a matter for voters in the United States to decide who they choose as their next president.
“I have to say that knowing the gruelling nature of the primaries, and what you have to go through, anyone who makes it through that extraordinary contest to lead their party into a general election certainly deserves our respect.
“What I said about Muslims, I won’t change that view, I don’t change that view. I am very clear that the policy idea that was put forward was wrong, is wrong, and will remain wrong, so I am very clear about that.”