FORMER British prime minister Gordon Brown has compared the Brexit movement to the populist campaign of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, as Labour launched a drive to persuade its supporters to vote to Remain in the June 23 referendum.
Mr Brown accused the Leave campaign of seeking a return to an outdated Victorian conception of sovereignty, which he said would be a "huge disaster" for jobs and the economy.
But his intervention was dismissed as a sign of "panic" by leading Leave campaigner Boris Johnson, who said Mr Brown was to blame for relaxing immigration controls while in power.
With 10 days to go before Britain decides whether to end its 43-year membership of the EU, opposition figures are being thrust centre-stage by concerns that growing numbers of Labour voters may be considering a Leave vote.
Pro-EU leaders are concerned that this potentially pivotal group has been pushed towards Brexit by the campaign's focus on Tory rivalries and immigration as well as uncertainties over leader Jeremy Corbyn's commitment to the EU cause.
Following a series of polls suggesting Leave gaining support, bookmakers slashed their odds on Brexit to their shortest since the referendum date was announced, with William Hill now rating the chances of a vote for withdrawal at 36 per cent.
Meanwhile, European Council president Donald Tusk issued a dramatic warning that UK withdrawal could start a process leading to the destruction not only of the EU, but of "western political civilisation".
Europe's enemies would be drinking champagne to celebrate British departure, he told German newspaper Bild.
But pro-Brexit minister Priti Patel said his warning was a sign of "desperation" in Brussels, and said it was the single currency and not the referendum that posed a threat to European civilisations.
