London - The Conservative Party leadership contender Mr Kenneth Clarke said yesterday he would offer places in his shadow cabinet to his four rivals in the contest if he were to win the post.
Mr Clarke, the only pro-euro Conservative fighting to succeed the outgoing leader, Mr William Hague, told BBC television he realised that giving cabinet posts to his rivals would mean that his team would be largely anti-euro. But he said this was the only way to properly represent the make-up of the party, which is largely against the single currency.
"My shadow cabinet would have a majority of Eurosceptics in it - because I've got to reflect the balance of the party," the former chancellor of the exchequer said. "We would all be a little more relaxed on the subject, there would be freedom of speech on the single currency and we'd cut out some of the more extreme and hard-line and rather zealous arguments."