Theresa May warned companies could leave the UK after a Brexit vote in leaked recording
In comments made before the referendum but only now released to the Guardian, Mrs May conceded that “a lot of people will invest” in Britain “because it is the UK in Europe”.
Speaking at Goldman Sachs on May 26, Mrs May is reported to have said: “I think the economic arguments are clear. I think being part of a 500-million trading bloc is significant for us.
"I think, as I was saying to you a little earlier, that one of the issues is that a lot of people will invest here in the UK because it is the UK in Europe.
“If we were not in Europe, I think there would be firms and companies who would be looking to say, do they need to develop a mainland Europe presence rather than a UK presence? So I think there are definite benefits for us in economic terms.”
In recent weeks Mrs May has hinted that Britain will not be in the single market after Brexit. Mrs May supported David Cameron’s Remain campaign ahead of the referendum.
However, she made relatively few interventions and allies of Mr Cameron have since said that she repeatedly refused to publicly back his campaign. She was seen as a "reluctant remainer" during the run-up to the referendum.
Ahead of the vote she made a speech which offered cautious backing to staying in the EU, but with the caveat that there are "problems" associated with membership and that the UK "could cope" outside the bloc.
She added at the time that the UK is “big enough and strong enough to be a success story in or out of the EU”.
Source: telegraph.co.uk