Lap-dance king Peter Stringfellow ditches Conservative party in Brexit protest

The nightclub owner said he turned his back on the Conservatives because he is strongly opposed to the country “sleep-walking” towards quitting the European Union.

He spoke out as a report warned that up to 87,000 jobs in London are at risk if Britain plunges out of the EU without a new trade deal, with the City most in danger.

In an exclusive interview with the Standard, Mr Stringfellow said: “I’m quitting the Tories unless they change their direction and lead us towards Remain.

"I can’t live with the fact that I’m supporting a party that is totally against what I think is good for our country.”

In a twist, former Ukip leader Nigel Farage also today suggested that a second referendum should be held to end the division in the country over Brexit.

Mr Stringfellow, 77, who has donated more than £40,000 to the Tories personally or through his Covent Garden venue since 2003, said he had “never known our country so divided”. He wants the public to have another say on Brexit, hopefully imminently, before the March 2019 departure date.

He believes the “price is too high” for the UK to leave, due to both the extra billions being spent on preparing for Brexit and the longer-term economic consequences. “I will leave with a heavy heart because I’ve been with the Conservatives through thick and thin,” he said. “We are all sleep-walking towards Brexit. When my time comes I want people to remember that I did stand up and say ‘Remain’.”

Mr Stringfellow argued that Britain was a “small nation” in a “massively fast-growing world” and should remain part of the EU. “We are heading for, if not disaster, certainly not something that is good for the future of Great Britain,” he said. He emphasised his “respect” for Theresa May, but branded this week’s reshuffle as “very weak”. He added: “She is a Remainer. I would like Mrs May to follow her heart, stand up and go into the history books as the Prime Minister who said ‘enough is enough’.”

He dismissed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as offering false promises. Stressing that he was a long-time Tory voter and an “aspirational” person, he added: “If they carry on with Brexit, I will stop supporting them immediately and would join Vince Cable and the Lib Dems.”