Lord Howe rounds on Major

John Major was criticised by the former Foreign Secretary Lord Howe yesterday for putting party unity above the national interest , writes Donald Macintyre.

Lord Howe said the Prime Minister's decision to rule out a single currency for 1996-97 and to veto constitutional change as a result of the 1996 inter-governmental conference was not "the right way of presenting the case".

It was possible to make a "very sensible" case for not yet accepting the idea of single currency but "one shouldn't reject it". It was necessary to say that Britain had an "overwhelming" interest in shaping the Community, and "you can't play that part convincingly if you're constantly looking as though you're heading for the exit".