英國商會總幹事因表達支持脫歐意見而被停職
The director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce has been suspended over his personal views on Brexit, according to the Financial Times.
據金融時報報道，英國商會總幹事因發表“英國退歐”的個人意見而被停職。John Longworth told the BCC's annual conference on Thursday that the UK's long-term prospects could be "brighter" outside the EU.
這名名叫約翰·朗沃斯的總幹事於上週四在英國商會的年會上表示，離開歐盟的英國的未來前景可能會更加“海闊天空”。The BCC's official line is that it will not campaign for either side before the 23 June referendum vote as its membership is split.
而英國商會的官方說法是，鑑於商會的成員意見有分歧，將不會在6月23日的公投之前支持任何一方意見。
The Financial Times reported the group held an emergency meeting to discuss how to reconcile the difference in views between Mr Longworth and many BCC members on EU membership. Members were later told Mr Longworth had been temporarily suspended for breaching the group's official position of neutrality, the paper added.
據金融時報報道，該組織已經召開緊急會議，討論如何調和朗沃斯先生和衆多英國商會成員就歐盟成員國問題的意見分歧。該報道指出，英國商會的成員後來被告知朗沃斯先生因違反了組織的官方中立立場而被暫時停職。
Mr Longworth had described the referendum as a choice between the "devil and the deep blue sea". Mr Longworth said: "The dynamism and resilience of the City of London and the UK business sector suggests to me that, in the long run, we have the capacity and capability to create a bright, if not brighter, economic future outside of the EU."
據悉，朗沃斯先生曾把公投描述成是一種“進退維谷”的選擇。他說：“就倫敦和英國經濟領域的活力和彈性來看，我認爲從長遠來看，我們有能力在歐盟之外創造另一個光明--即便不是更光明--的經濟未來。”The BCC responded at the time by saying it would not be campaigning for either side and that Mr Longworth's comments "reflect his personal assessment, rather than the position of the BCC".
英國商會當時的迴應是不會支持任何一方，而朗沃斯先生的意見只是代表了他的個人評價，而不是英國商會的立場。Pro-EU campaign group Britain Stronger in Europe said: "This affair demonstrates that, while some individual businesspeople are campaigning to leave the EU, their views do not come close to representing the clear majority of British businesses - large and small."
一支名爲 “英國在歐盟會更強大”的親歐盟運動組織表示：“該事件反映出，雖然一些企業人士個人支持並宣傳離開歐盟，但他們的觀點不代表英國企業中的大多數人的觀點，無論是大企業還是小企業。”
