Next chief warns against dramatic cuts to immigration post Brexit

Next chief executive Lord Wolfson, who was one of the most prominent pro-leave voices during the run-up to the EU referendum, has warned that dramatic cuts to immigration post Brexit would be damaging to British businesses.

Wolfson spoke to the BBC in an exclusive interview and said that any move to try to reduce immigration to the tens of thousands (which many leave voters were motivated by) would be "very dangerous for the economy".

The leading high street retailer said immigration had not been a motivation for his decision to back the leave campaign and he was firmly against "erecting barriers" around the country. "I believe we should gain some control but we can either try and trade our way out of this mess or we can try and protect ourselves by erecting barriers to trade and movement of people. If we try and protect our way out of this, we are doomed," he told the broadcaster.

Lord Wolfson: against "erecting barriers"

Wolfson had previously warned that Brexit would leading to rising costs and therefore prices on the high street post Brexit, but added that he didn't expect that to come into effect until next spring or summer due to currency hedging.

He said that Next's investment plans remained unchanged in light of Brexit but yesterday it was revealed that Burberry was putting the brakes on plans to build a new factory in Leeds after the result of the vote. The British luxury brand said it would still build the factory but it was putting the plan on hold while it assessed the impact of Brexit.