Dr Nelson Ogunshakin OBE, ACE chief executive has made the following statement on the UK invoking Article 50 today:

"The government must now begin to put into practice all that it has promised since the EU referendum result was announced on Friday 24 June last year. The two years we now have until we leave the EU must not be wasted and we have to ensure transitional arrangements that are as beneficial to the UK as possible.

"The consultancy and engineering sector must continue to be able to trade easily across European borders and the UK must remain an attractive place to come and settle, to receive an education, as well as to work. With the ambitious infrastructure agenda the government has put before itself, it is vital that the UK continues to be an attractive place to invest and that we avoid worsening an already acute skills shortage.

"ACE and its members will be watching the negotiations carefully and will want to be satisfied that any deal signed in two years will benefit the UK. This will be the legacy of Theresa May and her government."

ENDS