Deloitte chief warns firm may pull back from Britain

THE accountancy firm Deloitte has warned that it will move some parts of its business out of Britain if Theresa May takes too strong a stance on immigration.

The Prime Minister had previously accused Deloitte of “touting for business” after a leaked memo compiled by the firm claimed the Government could not cope with Brexit.

David Sproul, Deloitte’s UK chief executive, said it would “definitely be possible” to adapt training for British workers but it was “more likely” that the firm would have to move international parts of its work outside the UK.

Mr Sproul said that the ability to recruit the brightest and the best from outside the EU was vital to the firm’s success. He said: “We have more than 100 nationalities working for us in the UK. Having a diverse workforce is vital in terms of allowing us to grow and innovate.”

When asked to clarify if he would move Deloitte’s business out of Britain, Mr Sproul said: “Correct.”

The memo from Deloitte, leaked earlier this week, said that an extra 30,000 civil servants may be needed to cope with the additional workload, adding that Whitehall is working on 500 Brexit-related projects.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the memo was “unsolicited” and that the consultant who wrote it had not been working for the Government.

A Deloitte spokesman said: “As David made clear in his interview, Deloitte has no plans to move any work currently performed in the UK to other locations as a response to Brexit.”

‘We have more than 100 nationalities working for us in the UK. Having a diverse workforce is vital’