Sir Alan Sugar: 'I've seen plenty of daft ideas and duff proposals in my time and Britain leaving the EU is one of them'

Peter Macdiarmid / Getty

Sir Alan Sugar.

Sir Alan Sugar is the latest high-profile Brit to urge the public to vote for the country to remain in the European Union on June 23.

The billionaire businessman and star of reality TV show The Apprentice passionately declared his support for Britain staying in the 28-nation bloc today with just over three weeks to go until the referendum.

In a video clip published online by Britain Stronger in Europe - the official campaign for Britain to remain in the EU - Sugar says that leaving would be a "massive mistake" as it would result in a number of adverse effects for the British economy.

He said: "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work it out. Less trade plus less investment plus lower confidence equals fewer jobs, lower wages, less growth, and a weaker economy." He continued:

"I've seen plenty of daft ideas and duff proposals in my time and Britain leaving the European Union is one of them.

"We're told by various campaigners that it would be some great moment if Britain leaves. But then what? All they give us is some rubbish about being like Norway or Canada or even Albania; it's hardly reassuring.

"The EU is not a perfect place, far from it. But you don't sort something out by running away from it, you stick at it and you make it better."

He also penned an article for British tabloid newspaper The Sun in which he argued that Britain would be "the mugs of the world" if it voted to leave the EU next month.

Lord Sugar - best known for forging the electronics company Amstrad - has emerged as a key figure for Prime Minister David Cameron in the last few weeks. This is despite him once being a member of the Labour party.

Last week, it was revealed that Sugar had been hired as the government's new enterprise tsar. This means that he will tour the country to tell young people about business and apprenticeships on behalf of Downing Street.

Being one of the country's most well-known and respected businessman, his public declaration of support for Britain's EU membership will likely be a boost for Cameron and the Remain campaign as voting day draws closer.

Watch Lord Sugar make his case for Britain staying in the EU: