More than a third of Britain’s biggest businesses came out in support of the Remain campaign in a letter today.
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Chairmen or chief executives of 36 FTSE 100 companies – the UK’s biggest firms – signed the letter backing the campaign to remain in the EU.
Mr Johnson, who is seen as a potential successor to Mr Cameron as Conservative leader and prime minister, has been accused of pursuing political ambitions with his decision.
The responses led to accusations of hypocrisy from pro-Brexit campaigners, one of whom said it was “disingenuous” for the business leaders to put their names to a letter warning that jobs were under threat if they had no such plans themselves.
The pound first began to drop after London Mayor Boris Johnson announced over the weekend that he would join the campaign to leave the EU.
Ms Villiers added: “There’s also a long list of businesses – like Vauxhall, Airbus, GE, Renault – all of whom have said they will continue to work and invest in the United Kingdom even if we leave”.
Speaking to employees of British cellphone operator O2 in Slough, a commuter town outside of London, Mr. Cameron said a lot of people in the United Kingdom feel “quite conflicted”, and that “in all of us there is a questioning about what is the right answer for Britain”.
Rob Wainwright, director of the European police cooperation agency Europol, who said that if Britain turns its back on the EU and the police cooperation it offers, “it would make the U.K.’s job harder, I think, to protect the citizens from terrorism and organized crime”.
He said United Kingdom sovereignty – the power of Britain to govern itself – was being “very greatly eroded” by European Union institutions, with “too much judicial activism” and legislation coming out of the EU.
A poll last week found that one in three people viewed his decision as “important” in helping them decide which way to vote in the referendum – making his voice the second most influential politician after Mr Cameron.
He added: “What I won’t do is take part in loads of TV debates against other members of my party and I was told what the Prime Minister had to say this morning about not sharing platforms with George Galloway and other individuals, and I won’t do that either”.
“We must be clear, on all sides, that Britain has benefited from migration; from European Union workers coming in to work in our industry and in our public services to fill gaps”, he said.
It argued for the economic merits of European Union membership.
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Initiated by the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign and the Prime Minister’s Office, it includes heads of business houses like Marks and Spencer, British Telecom, Vodafone, and ASDA, although equally big businesses have not signed. “It would put the economy at risk”.
