City grandee raps No10 ‘propaganda’

A CITY grandee last night launched a blistering attack on David Cameron’s campaign to remain in the EU, dubbing it ‘corrupt’.

Robert Hiscox, who chaired Lloyd’s of London insurer Hiscox for 43 years until 2013, also savaged George Osborne’s Treasury for publishing ‘illegal propaganda’.

His comments echo those of Tory peers Nigel Lawson and Norman Lamont, who railed against this month’s Treasury analysis that predicts a severe economic shock as a result of Brexit. Mr Hiscox said: ‘The part the Government has played in the debate is astonishing.

‘Their corrupt statements and illegal propaganda pouring out is something to behold, especially the Treasury document.’

He added that City institutions supporting Remain form part of an ‘elite’ acting in their own interests. ‘All the experts coming out for Remain are all part of the elite, from Goldman Sachs downwards, they’ve all bought into it, it’s for their own self-interest,’ he said. ‘Why do we want to have millions of rules delivered by an unelected tyrannical elite in Brussels?’

It is the first time he has shared his views on the EU since signing an open letter supporting Brexit alongside more than 300 other business leaders.

Mr Hiscox added that his company, currently based in Bermuda for ‘tax and regulatory purposes’, may move back to the UK if Britain exits the EU.

He said: ‘We don’t want to bring it back while we’re in the EU. If we leave, then it depends on the domestic regime whether we come back or not, but it’s possible.’