In an article penned for weekly conservative magazine The Spectator, Mr Gove asserts that the UK will be 'freer, fairer and better off' if its citizens 'Vote Leave' in June, adding that breaking ranks with Mr Cameron for the landmark referendum was 'the most difficult decision' of his political career. Mr Gove has launched the 'Vote Leave' campaign with work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, culture secretary John Whittingdale, leader of the Commons Chris Grayling, Northern Ireland secretary Theresa Villiers and employment minister Priti Patel.

Democracy stronger outside EU

In his 1,500-word statement, Mr Gove implored UK citizens to take back ownership of laws and regulation by making the move out of the EU, arguing that subservience to Brussels threatens the status of British democracy. 'I believe that the decisions which govern all our lives, the laws we must all obey and the taxes we must all pay should be decided by the people we choose and who we can throw out if we want change,' he said. 'If power is to be used wisely, if we are to avoid corruption and complacency in high office, then the public must have the right to change laws and Government at election time.'

'An analogue union in a digital age'

Some in the City have argued that the continued presence of the UK within the EU is of the utmost importance for the business and legal communities. However, Mr Gove believes that business will be served well by a Brexit, likening the EU to a ball and chain around the ankle of business innovation. 'The EU is an institution rooted in the past and is proving incapable of reforming to meet the big technological, demographic and economic challenges of our time,' he wrote. 'The EU tries to standardise and regulate rather than encourage diversity and innovation. It is an analogue union in a digital age.'