The businessman, 68, told his 12 million Twitter followers leaving the EU without a deal would cause damage to the UK economy. “As an investor in UK business, I know that a no-deal Brexit will set back the UK economy for years, destroying jobs and livelihoods,” Richard Branson tweeted. “The UK Parliament must take control, strike down no deal and give the UK people a #FinalSay on what they really want.” Insisting the public should be offered the chance to vote in a second referendum, he continued: “Billions have been spent. Massive amounts of capital have left the UK.
“Thousands of jobs have already gone.
“As an entrepreneur and investor in UK business, I say it’s time for the UK Parliament to rethink Brexit and give the people a #FinalSay,” Branson tweeted.
The business tycoon has previously called for a new Brexit vote, claiming many people who voted Leave in the first referendum had changed their minds.
In a blog post titled The Brexit Crisis, which he shared on www.virgin.com, he said: “I’m no alone in fearing the UK is still dangerously close to the full-scale disaster that a no-deal exit from the European Union would be.
“The time for the UK Government to rethink its approach is now,” he wrote.
Hitting out at Theresa May, he said: “Prioritising party over country, the Prime Minister is no longer acting in the national interest.
“Instead, she has decided to pitch herself as the defender of the “people” against the machinations of Parliament.”
He once again spoke about “thousands” of jobs in Britain being lost, saying: “Brexit preparations alone have eaten up billions that could have been spent elsewhere.”
Branson said May should “rethink” her approach to Brexit ahead of the third meaningful vote.
“This is a moment of profound national crisis for the UK,” he wrote.
Branson currently lives on his private island Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands.
Meanwhile, MPs are set for a second round of “indicative votes” in a bid to find an alternative to May’s Brexit deal.
Boris Johnson has thrown his support behind a no deal Brexit, writing in hie Telegraph column that the Government have to deliver Brexit to stop Jeremy Corbyn coming to power.
“We cannot go on like this,” he said. “We need to get on with it and get it done.
“Yes, it will be tough and yes, it will mean we will need a very different approach. But it is absolutely essential now that we in the UK recover our courage and self-belief.”
Johnson labelled the a no deal Brexit by “far the best option” at this point.