Tories' confusion over position in euro poll

Tory policy on a euro referendum seemed in disarray last night when the party's chairman predicted that Iain Duncan Smith would be at the "forefront" of any "no" campaign.

David Davis said the party leader and other senior figures would be on "the front line" if the Government called a poll. His remarks not only contradicted those of Dominic Cummings, the party's director of strategy, but were rejected by the director of the "no" campaign.

The confusion within the party emerged after The Independent revealed yesterday that Mr Cummings believed the Tories' unpopularity would force them to take a back seat in a referendum. "The biggest potential threat to the pound's survival is the Conservative Party," he said. Mr Cummings also forecast that Mr Duncan Smith would play a low-key role to prevent Labour from turning the referendum into a party political battle.

Mr Davis told The World at One on BBC Radio 4: "If the Government has the guts to call a referendum on this subject, then the Conservative Party will be at the forefront of that. Iain Duncan Smith will be at the forefront."

But George Eustice, the director of the "no" campaign, said that if the Tories wanted to win the referendum, they would have to accept that "they will have a role, but it will definitely not be a leading role". He added: "Dominic is right. There's a recognition inside the Tory party that this is the way the campaign has got to be fought."