"FREEDOM TO BUST OUT"
Britain's foreign minister Boris Johnson, one of the main proponents of the "Leave" vote, has meanwhile written an article in the tabloid newspaper the Sun defending Brexit.
Britain had voted for "the freedom to bust out of the corsets of EU regulation and rules" he said, and any softening of the final deal - such as continued membership of the single market and customs union - would be unwelcome.
Those who voted for Brexit had not changed their minds, he said. "They don't want some bog roll Brexit - soft, yielding and seemingly infinitely long" he said, using a British slang expression for toilet paper.
Johnson was also quoted in the Telegraph newspaper by two diplomatic sources as strongly dismissing business leaders' concerns about the impact of Brexit.
Speaking on BBC radio Jurgen Maier, head of German manufacturer Siemens in Britain, said slogans about Brexit were "incredibly unhelpful".
"What we need to do now is get closer to our European partners and work out what a realistic, pragmatic Brexit is, which works for both sides," he said.
On Friday, Airbus said that if Britain were to leave the EU without a deal it would be forced to reconsider its long-term position and put UK jobs at risk.
