EU exit would leave Britain with 'zero influence'

The UK would have "zero" influence if it voted to leave the EU, the outgoing president of the European Commission has said.

Jose Manuel Barroso said Britain could not negotiate with the US and China "on an equal footing" on its own, the BBC reports. He also said free movement of people within the EU was an "essential" principle that could not be changed. Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said Barroso was "out of touch" and an "unelected bureaucrat". Barroso was asked about Prime Minister David Cameron's stated intention to negotiate a better deal for the UK in Europe, ahead of an in/out referendum. Cameron has said he will "not take no for an answer" and "get what Britain needs" on the questio...