Tory ministers cannot get straight answer on EU vote

British prime minister David Cameron has said he has yet to decide if ministers will have to quit his cabinet if they choose to back the No campaign in the upcoming referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union.

The clarification emerged after nearly 24 hours of confusion, and rumblings from within the Conservatives, following his remarks on Sunday on the margins of the G7 meeting of world leaders in Bavaria.

There, Mr Cameron had given a slightly garbled quote saying that ministers – “if you want to be part of the government” – would have to accept that his bid to renegotiate the UK’s terms of membership will have “a successful outcome”.

This was reported by a series of British newspapers as Mr Cameron warning his ministers that they will be sacked if they support the No campaign . This prompted a flurry of telephone calls early yesterday morning between Conservative backbenchers.

Say Yes or No

Leading backbencher

David Davis

warned that Mr Cameron was creating a major and unnecessary split within the party. Instead, he should let ministers say Yes or No, as happened during the 1975 referendum held by Labour’s

Harold Wilson

.

“What we may end up doing is turning a decent debate into a bitter argument,” Mr Davis said. “You’re going to have decent people who care deeply about the country’s future and this is, for some of them, the biggest issue.”

Seeking to clarify his comments, Mr Cameron’s spokesman said that the prime minister is drawing a distinction between ministers being required to back him during the negotiations, and the referendum itself.

Ministerial support

During the negotiations, ministers will have to support him, but the spokesman said that a decision about whether they would have to quit if they formally declared their support subsequently for a No vote has yet to be made.

Making the situation worse, Mr Cameron angered Fleet Street by claiming the media had “misinterpreted” his remarks, though correspondents travelling with him had checked their understanding of his words with No 10 Downing Street before publication.

The holes in Mr Cameron's defence are highlighted by the fact that communities minister James Wharton was detailed to tell the BBC that it was not surprising that ministers would be required to back him.

"On big issues like this – we saw it recently on the Scottish referendum – the government itself takes a position. We have a long-established principle of collective responsibility," Mr Wharton told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.