Small businesses are concerned that Brexit could cause job losses and impact trade, Robert Halfon has said.

The MP for Harlow and villages such as Nazeing and Hastingwood said the EU referendum had been an “incredibly difficult issue” for him.

In contrast to his town, which voted 68.1 per cent to leave, Mr Halfon voted remain on Thursday (June 23).

He said: “I always said that whilst my heart said leave, my head said stay.

“Many Harlow small businesses contacted me saying that they were really worried that Brexit would have an impact on their work with European companies and they were worried that jobs would be lost in Harlow.”

Mr Halfon, who is the deputy chairman of the Conservative party, said he was “sad” that prime minister David Cameron announced his resignation on Friday.

He added: “He has done this for honourable reasons.

“I supported him as prime minster because he introduced the national living wage, froze fuel duty for many years, cut taxes for lower earners and has pledged billions of pounds of extra spending on the NHS.

“He has done all this at the same time as getting our economy back on track and creating millions of jobs and apprentices, with more people employed than at any time in our island’s history.”