Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister, used a visit to a Beckton firm to talk about Britain’s place in Europe.

Mr Clegg was vsiting Buhler Sortex Limited yesterday, in Beckton where he delivered a speech on Britain and Europe “In Europe for the National Interest” to an audience of invited business leaders.

He said: “Leaving the EU would be economic suicide. You cannot overstate teh damage it would do to British livelihoods and prosperity.

“Three millin jobs are linked to the Single Market- three million. As a member we are part of the world’s biggest borderless market place, made up of 500 million people. It’s now the largest economy in the world - ahead of the United States - and it’s where we do around half of all our trade.”

The Buhler Sortex is a division of The Bühler Group and a global leader in optical sorting solutions and was recommended to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister by EEF (formerly the Engineering Employers’ Federation) as an excellent example of a modern manufacturing facility.

Hamid Kefayati, Managing Director of Buhler Sortex Limited, said: “We are extremely appreciative of the recognition from the Cabinet Office as a leading example of modern, hi-tech manufacturing and were delighted to host Mr. Clegg and the audience of business leaders.”

During his visit, Mr. Clegg met a group of young Buhler apprentices and took a tour of the manufacturing facilities.

Established in east London in 1947, Buhler Sortex is a leading global supplier of optical sorting solutions to the food and non-food processing industries and has been at the forefront of optical sorting technology for over 65 years.