Britain leaving EU but must not turn back on Europe, PM says

LONDON — Britain must not turn its back on Europe or the rest of the world even though it is leaving the European Union, Prime Minister David Cameron told Parliament Monday after a shock referendum backed a Brexit.

“Britain is leaving the European Union but we must not turn our back on Europe or the rest of the world,” he said, adding: “We have to determine the kind of relationship we want with the EU.”

“It is going to be difficult… This is going to be far from plain sailing,” he told MPs, while also trying to reassure following a plunge in the financial markets in the wake of the referendum.

“We are well placed to face the challenges ahead,” he said.

Cameron also condemned anti-immigrant incidents after the vote, saying: “We have a fundamental responsibility to bring our country together.

“Let’s remember these people have come and made a wonderful contribution to this country,” he said, adding that there would be “no immediate change” in the status of EU citizens living in Britain.

He also said that different parts of the United Kingdom would be involved in consultations on withdrawal from the European Union, after Scotland said a new independence referendum could be on the cards since Scotland had voted against leaving.

“Scotland benefits from being in two single markets,” the EU and the rest of Britain, he said.

“In my view the best outcome is to try and keep Scotland in both,” he added.

He also reiterated that he would leave it to his successor to formally start Brexit negotiations with the European Union.

“Before we do that, we have to determine the kind of relationship we want with the EU,” he said.