The British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, began campaigning yesterday to join Europe's single currency, saying the government still expected to offer a referendum on the issue in the next parliament.
Mr Cook, who has staked out a position as the most vocally proeuro minister in the Labour government, said: "Every rational member of the British public should want to see it happen." He told BBC TV that Britain's place at the heart of Europe created millions of jobs, helped consumers get a better deal and allowed a co-ordinated crackdown on drugs.
"The more we appear half-hearted about it the less likely we are to deliver our national interest in Europe," Mr Cook said.
But a recent opinion poll shows only 17 per cent of the British public favour euro zone entry.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Gordon Brown, is widely rumoured to have cooled on it because it could disrupt the economy's course. The Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, is thought to remain in favour but does not want the issue to dominate the next election.
Mr Cook left no doubt as to his feelings. "There is not any difference between what is in the interests of the British economy and what is necessary for Britain to join the single currency," he said.
