Clarke opens Tory wounds

Kenneth Clarke, the Chancellor, reignited the Tory civil war over Europe yesterday when he insisted Britain could be in the first wave of countries to sign up to a single currency. As a meeting of EU finance ministers ended in Dublin, he said it would be "pathetic" for Britain "to do its traditional business of not being able to make their minds up and then joining late". He rejected suggestions that the timetable for monetary union within two-and-a-half years was too fast for Britain.

But MP Graham Riddick, an ally of Eurosceptic John Redwood, said Mr Clarke was not reflecting the views of the country: "The reality is that there is no way this country could go into a single currency against the wishes of the people of this country, and the vast majority ...are very hostile to the idea."

Bonn's demand, page 8