BRITAIN needs to stay in the European Union to protect its scientific research from being undermined by the UK Government's austerity cuts, Stephen Hawking has said.

The world-famous theoretical physicist also warned the country would become "culturally isolated and insular" if Brexit limited the scope for foreign exchanges.

"There are two obvious reasons why we should stay in," Prof Hawking told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

Read more: Val McDermid - Brexit will create 'strong groundswell' for second independence referendum

“The first is that it promotes the mobility of people. Students can come here from EU countries to study and our students can go to other EU universities.

"More importantly, at the level of research, the exchange of people enables skills to transfer more quickly and brings new people with different ideas, derived from their different backgrounds. Without this exchange, we would become more culturally isolated and insular and, ultimately, more remote from where progress is being made.”

Prof Hawking said the other reason was financial; grants from the European Research Council to UK institutions, which either fostered research or promoted exchanges.

The Herald:

"Gone are the days we could stand on our own against the world; we need to be part of a larger group of nations, both for our security and our trade,” he added.

But Vote Leave claimed the EU had been “bad for science”, increasing costs and bureaucracy.

"In the internet age it is patently ridiculous to suggest that the referendum will have an impact on the exchange of information between scientists and with our world-class universities, the calibre of scientists wanting to study here is unlikely to do anything except grow," said its chief executive Matthew Elliott.

Meantime, on the campaign trail, David Cameron hailed the “extraordinary coalition” of forces to keep Britain in the EU as he launched a pro-EU guarantee card and shared a platform with Labour’s London mayor Sadiq Khan.

Read more: Kezia Dugdale slams EU poll 'immigration scare stories'

It was only a few weeks ago that the Prime Minister was accused of using racist slurs against Mr Khan in the bitter Labour-Conservative campaign for the mayoralty but Mr Cameron told Stronger In Europe campaigners that he was “proud” to share a platform with the Labour politician in south west London.

Noting how the In campaign had brought together politicians from all the main parties and had joined, in common cause, businesses and trade unions, the PM told a Remain rally: “This is not, in the end, an argument about Europe, it’s an argument about Britain. We believe this is the right thing for Britain; a bigger, bolder, better Britain remaining inside the EU with these guarantees.”

The Herald:

The five guarantees covered: full access to the EU’s single market; protecting workers’ rights; retaining the European Arrest Warrant; keeping Britain’s special status in Europe, including new welfare rules on migrant workers, and maintaining economic stability.

But Ukip MP Douglas Carswell, speaking for Vote Leave, claimed Mr Cameron could “not be trusted,” noting how he had backtracked; just a month ago he attacked Mr Khan as a terrorist sympathiser and he once warned the European Arrest Warrant was dangerous.

In other developments:

*The TUC said in a new report Brexit would mean wages would be £38 a week lower and manufacturing would fall into “steep decline”;

Read more: Kirk members asked to back 'In' vote on EU

*SyndicateRoom, an equity crowdfunding platform, claimed Brexit would put over £2 trillion of personal investments at risk;

*former Chancellor Ken Clarke branded Vote Leave a “leadership bid for Boris Johnson" and said the former London mayor was a "nicer version of Donald Trump" and

*Channel 4 broadcaster Jon Snow complained the In-Out campaign the “worse-tempered” and “most boring” ever.