Jim Armitage: British business needs to speak out for staying in Europe

David Cameron is finally urging British business leaders to speak out in favour of staying in Europe, and well he may.

So far, it seems foreign bosses are more vocal than our own.

Overseas-based multinationals from Nissan to BMW have voiced Brexit concerns for years, and today it emerges that our American friends at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are bankrolling the “in” brigade.

Well-intentioned it may be, but this latest sign of support doesn’t help pro-Europeans.

Brits have not yet learned to love investment banks, let alone one still known in some quarters as the “vampire squid”.

It’s surely far better to hear voices like that of Land Securities’ Rob Noel warning of the threat of Brexit to UK jobs and the economy.

While property developers may not be up there with nurses and firemen in the hearts of voters, at least he’s an Englishman.

British execs have so far been reluctant to pipe up for the “in” campaign largely because Business Secretary Sajid Javid told them last year to keep quiet.

That left the field open for the Brexit crew and their noisy friends in the media.

Now, with a referendum possibly only months away, it’s time for big businesses to forget Javid, heed the Prime Minister and pump up the volume.