Campaign group against EU to launch with £20m from the country's richest people

Group is said to already be in talks with sporting figures and celebrities to act as ambassadors for the campaign to leave Europe

Nigel Farage and the major Ukip donor Arron Banks leave the party’s head office in central London in May (AFP)

A £20million campaign that will be funded by some of the wealthiest people in Britain is to launch in September.

Organisers, which include business people and entrepreneurs, are said to be in talks with sports stars and other celebrities to act as ambassadors for the campaign.

The campaign, which has been provisionally titled “No Thanks – We’re Going Global,” has hired offices and staff, and has also recruited an agency to help with a public relations and advertising run which will coincide with its launch on 10 September.

The group is led by Arron Banks, the insurance millionaire who donated £1m to Ukip in 2014, although he has made clear that it will have nothing to do with previous political campaigns.

While there are already more than seven other anti-Eu campaign groups, all are vying for recognition as the official No campaign as it would entitled them to millions of pounds in public funding, the Telegraph reported.

Mr Banks said that Eurosceptic Conservatives and Ukip would not be a part of the campaign and allegedly was going to hire Conservative political strategist Lynton Crosby’s company, Crosby Textor Fullbrook, until last week.

“We represent a group of entrepreneurs, businessmen who are very different from the same poepl who go around the Westminster bubble,” Mr Banks told the Telegraph.

Mr banks went on to add that Nigel Fargae and Ukip would not factor into the campaign, avoiding the divisive reputation Mr Farage has achieved.

“Nigel is a great communicator but I don’t believe Ukip is the right vehicle to take this forward,” Mr Banks said, adding that Mr Farage was “not the right person to lead the campaign,” as he did not reach out to everybody.