A YOUTH charity leader from Bolton has called on the government to include young people in the Brexit negotiations.

Saeed Atcha, the CEO of Xplode Magazine, an award winning charity retraining the region’s young people, voiced his frustration over lack of youth engagement in a BBC News Brexit special, broadcast from Bolton Market.

Speaking to BBC News, he said: “The key is to make sure - whether young people were for or against Brexit - that they have a say in their futures. They are the generation that will have to live with the effects for the longest.

“Young people are 20 percent of the population, but zero percent of them are sitting at that top table making the decisions.

“For our future’s sake we really need to ensure young people are having a say in those negotiations and reassuring other young people that we are going to try and get the best Brexit deal.”

March 29 marked a year to the day until Brexit, and Mr Atcha also raised concerns about its impact on jobs, calling it a double-edged sword..

He said: “There are 65,000 EU Nationals working across Greater Manchester and with their futures uncertain, we haven’t got 65,000 skilled-enough people to fill those jobs, so there’s a lot of work to do to get people ready for jobs that may come as a result of Brexit.”