THE country has become the laughing stock of the world, a business leader has said.

Matt Bennett, CEO of DRB Group in Deeside, spoke to the Leader to voice his concerns over Britain’s exit from the European Union and what it means for his business and businesses across Wales.

He said: "Trying to work out the answer is is the worst thing. There's a vast amount of frustration around the way politicians condemn themselves.

"As business people we have to do what's right for the business, whether that's right by us is irrelevant and that's the type of thinking we need from politicians. They need to put aside petty differences and start to work together.

"If you're going to set fire to the world, you better have a plan for it. They don't have a credible plan.

"We have no party loyalty, we base our decisions on who will give us the best chance. I have to answer to 120 people who have mortgages to pay and make sure their jobs are safe and that's what matters to me.

"As for the people who started Brexit, if you're not sat at home with your head in your hands you're a sociopath.

"We are looking for certainty, stop dancing with economic suicide."

Mr Bennett said his company is looking at projects on hold with an estimated value of £1.5m and is facing delayed times with European sourced items.

They have also seen a reduction in the automotive trade, which he says all piles up.

He added: "Now, fortunately, we have a maintenance side to the business so when we go through recession that's a good time for us ironically. But, if you just did projects you would be very nervous and there's obviously a lot of people out there who are.

"All anyone talks about is Brexit, not education or health or anything else.

"My employees trust us as business leaders to do the very best we can, but what that will look like, I don't know.

"As chief executive my time is tight so how much time can I spend on something that might not happen and there's no clarity.

"Our customers are looking to us to fix problems, they don't care about Brexit, they need their products on the shelves, but how can I plan when I don't know what I'm dealing with?"

Mr Bennett told the Leader that he would prefer another referendum and for Brexit to be taken off the table completely.

He said: "To say another referendum is undemocratic is ridiculous. It's the same as when we do a survey. Just because you've asked people, doesn't mean we have to do it. There's new information, it's a new world and we know what it looks like. Offer it back to the people with a clear view of what will happen.

"The reality is we will have a general election which is more uncertainty.

"The best analogy I can think of when people talk about replacing Theresa May, is if you crash a car and wheels fall off, is putting a new driver in the car going to get you out of the ditch? No.

"It's completely ridiculous, she needs people to pull together as a team and as a nation, to get behind her to find a better deal. We've become a laughing stock of the world.

"It's a farce, if it was a business it would be bankrupt but it's not, it's a country. It's the UK. The world has moved on since the referendum. At what point do politicians move on from destroying themselves?

"I want a no Brexit. It's completely absurd. I want to be forging closer ties with Europe. Deeside in particular is phenomenal and as a country, by going ahead with this we are turning our backs on that.

"I'm very grateful for the support we have from politicians like Jack Sargeant AM, but it makes their job that much harder when Westminster forget we all need representing."