Euro-sceptics warn of 'return to fascism'

Euro-sceptic Tory MPs last night intensified the pressure on the Government to take a strong line against European monetary union, despite appeals for unity by ministers, writes Colin Brown.

The Government's troubles over the Scott report have led to many Tory MPs deciding not to "rock the boat".

But there was no sign of a let-up in the pressure on John Major to oppose further movement by Germany towards EMU at the forthcoming inter-governmental conference. Two Tory Euro-sceptics, Bill Cash and Iain Duncan Smith, warned that the drive towards EMU and a single currency could mean a return to fascism on a European scale. The single currency could also bring higher unemployment and disorder, they claimed.

"The consequences of high unemployment followed by disorder and the potential return of fascism on a European scale make a wider renegotiation imperative," the MPs said at the launch of a pamphlet answering recent remarks by Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany.