The director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce has been suspended over his personal views on Brexit, according to the Financial Times.
据金融时报报道,英国商会总干事因发表“英国退欧”的个人意见而被停职。
John Longworth told the BCC's annual conference on Thursday that the UK's long-term prospects could be "brighter" outside the EU.
这名名叫约翰·朗沃斯的总干事于上周四在英国商会的年会上表示,离开欧盟的英国的未来前景可能会更加“海阔天空”。
The BCC's official line is that it will not campaign for either side before the 23 June referendum vote as its membership is split.
而英国商会的官方说法是,鉴于商会的成员意见有分歧,将不会在6月23日的公投之前支持任何一方意见。
The Financial Times reported the group held an emergency meeting to discuss how to reconcile the difference in views between Mr Longworth and many BCC members on EU membership. Members were later told Mr Longworth had been temporarily suspended for breaching the group's official position of neutrality, the paper added.
据金融时报报道,该组织已经召开紧急会议,讨论如何调和朗沃斯先生和众多英国商会成员就欧盟成员国问题的意见分歧。该报道指出,英国商会的成员后来被告知朗沃斯先生因违反了组织的官方中立立场而被暂时停职。
Mr Longworth had described the referendum as a choice between the "devil and the deep blue sea". Mr Longworth said: "The dynamism and resilience of the City of London and the UK business sector suggests to me that, in the long run, we have the capacity and capability to create a bright, if not brighter, economic future outside of the EU."
据悉,朗沃斯先生曾把公投描述成是一种“进退维谷”的选择。他说:“就伦敦和英国经济领域的活力和弹性来看,我认为从长远来看,我们有能力在欧盟之外创造另一个光明--即便不是更光明--的经济未来。”
The BCC responded at the time by saying it would not be campaigning for either side and that Mr Longworth's comments "reflect his personal assessment, rather than the position of the BCC".
英国商会当时的回应是不会支持任何一方,而朗沃斯先生的意见只是代表了他的个人评价,而不是英国商会的立场。
Pro-EU campaign group Britain Stronger in Europe said: "This affair demonstrates that, while some individual businesspeople are campaigning to leave the EU, their views do not come close to representing the clear majority of British businesses - large and small."
一支名为 “英国在欧盟会更强大”的亲欧盟运动组织表示:“该事件反映出,虽然一些企业人士个人支持并宣传离开欧盟,但他们的观点不代表英国企业中的大多数人的观点,无论是大企业还是小企业。”