The EU is an “outdated, unaccountable body” and Britain should “focus on building ties with countries predicted to dominate the global economy” according to Sutton’s Tory MP.

Sutton and Cheam MP Paul Scully said he will vote to leave the EU in the upcoming referendum after Conservatives were given free rein on the issue by Prime Minister David Cameron.

Mr Scully said: “We need to stop the drive to ever-closer union and remove the ability of EU citizens to claim out of work benefits immediately on arriving in the UK.

“The EU is an outdated, unaccountable body.

“I would rather focus our energy and our substantial financial contribution to building new relationships.

“This doesn’t mean pulling up the drawbridge - trade, international security and environmental issues don’t stop at the Channel.

“I want to be able to continue trading with the EU but also be able to develop closer trading links with countries predicted to dominate the global economy in the coming decades like India.”

But his Liberal Democrat counterpart Tom Brake, in Carshalton and Wallington, said if Vote Leave campaigners did not acknowledge the disadvantages of leaving the union they would be hoodwinking the public.

He added: “Supporters of staying in, like me, will have to acknowledge that there are disadvantages to being in the EU.

“By the same token, supporters of leaving the EU will have to acknowledge that there are disadvantages to leaving the EU, as well as huge uncertainty about the impact on the UK economically and diplomatically if we left.

“If they do not do that, they will be hoodwinking the public.

“I will look forward to engaging with Paul Scully and businesses on this issue. No one should be in any doubt that whichever way the decision goes, it will have a permanent and massive impact on all of our futures.”