A WORCESTERSHIRE MP has waded into the EU debate in a keynote speech describing a Brexit as "bad for business".

Sajid Javid said 1.2 million small and medium sized firms currently exporting to the EU would be "on the front line" to take a hit.

But the Business Secretary's speech in Birmingham has already come under fire from some people in Worcestershire, who have called it "negative".

Mr Javid said: "This shows yet again that Britain’s small businesses are stronger, safer and better off in Europe.

"If we leave the EU, small firms are on the front line and that's a gamble with people's livelihoods I'm not willing to take.

"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy - let's not break that backbone with a leap into the dark."

He also told an audience of business leaders and Remain campaigners that there would be "an economic shock" under a Brexit with no certain end date in sight.

The Bromsgrove MP also claimed EU regulation was "getting lighter" because of lobbying from ministers and forecasted a "screeching" return of tariffs if Britain quits.

He appeared alongside Piers Linney from the TV show Dragons' Den, using his backing as an example of a successful entrepreneur.

It comes days after we revealed how Worcester-based entrepreneur Neil Westwood, who runs Magic Whiteboard and secured investment from two Dragons' Den panelists himself, said a Brexit would help small firms.

He said: "The EU economy has failed, they have miserable levels of growth and bailouts in the EU.

"Unemployment is over 20 per cent in a lot of EU countries, it is not as rosy as (ministers like Mr Javid) think."

Mr Javid said it was "myth" only large firms wanted to remain, insisting that 1.2 million small employers were "involved in exports to the European Union" including 400,000 who sell directly to the bloc.

But Vote Leave has called the Government's figures "highly questionable" and say red tape is still too high.

Mr Javid has been one of Worcestershire's most vociferous Eurosceptics in recent years, but penned an open letter two months ago saying he was backing Remain due to fears over a downturn.

His speech was delivered at Birmingham Science Park in Aston.

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