A no-deal Brexit ¡°would represent the most unhinged example of national self-sabotage in living memory¡±, University of Glasgow principal and?vice-chancellor Sir Anton Muscatelli has warned.

Speaking at a summit?about the impact of Brexit in Glasgow, Sir Anton, the chair of the Russell Group, said that politicians had a ¡°moral obligation¡± to try to prevent the UK crashing out of the European Union without a deal.

¡°All logic¡± indicated that keeping the UK in the single market after Brexit was the right thing to do, said Sir Anton, a leading economist, who emphasised that he was speaking in a personal capacity.

The intervention came amid growing concern about the potential impact of a no-deal Brexit on higher education. The government has warned that grants promised to UK-based academics from the European Research Council and Marie Sk?odowska-Curie initiative could be jeopardised if the UK exits without a deal.

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Sir Anton warned that the consequences of a no-deal Brexit would be ¡°dire¡± across wide swathes of the economy?and that ¡°there has been no comparable experience of a member of a regional trade association or free-trade area crashing out of that area without agreement¡±.

¡°In my view, a hard Brexit would represent the most unhinged example of national self-sabotage in living memory ¨C and everyone in public life has a duty, a moral obligation, to do what we can to prevent it,¡± Sir Anton said.

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He added: ¡°Any politician refusing to try ¨C who won¡¯t even attempt to soften the pain of Brexit by making the case for single market membership, which all logic tells them is the right thing to do ¨C is guilty of a serious dereliction of duty.

¡°And if their failure of leadership sets our economy and our society back for generations, history will judge them very harshly indeed.¡±

Sir Anton also highlighted the importance of EU nationals in Glasgow¡¯s workforce, warning that ¡°any barrier to our ability to recruit and work with the best minds from across Europe would have a huge impact on future economic growth and productivity in Scotland¡±.

chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com