Cameron declines invitation to centre-right leaders' gathering

David Cameron is facing isolation in Europe after snubbing a meeting of centre-right leaders from across the continent.

The European People's Party (EPP) confirmed that Mr Cameron had turned down an invitation to tomorrow's annual gathering.

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The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the new French Prime Minister, François Fillon, are expected at the high-level meeting, timed to coincide with this week's EU summit.

The EEP is riding high after the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as French President, but Mr Cameron pledged to pull out the Conservative Party during his campaign for the party leadership. He has promised to create a new right-of-centre grouping in the European Parliament, alongside the Czech Civic Democrats Party, after the parliamentary elections in 2009.

Mr Cameron has angered his own MEPs by arguing that the EPP is too federalist and telling Conservative MEPs that they will have to join his new breakaway grouping if they want to stand for the party.

Yesterday Denis MacShane, the former Europe minister, said: "David Cameron's continuing snubbing of the centre-right governments of Europe is damaging to British national interests. Mr Cameron could be sitting down with M. Sarkozy and Mrs Merkel and the new rulers of Europe making the case for Britain."