IN a desperate plea to his divided party, the British Prime Minister, Mr John Major, has appealed to his Euro sceptical colleagues not to "bind his hands" and leave him "naked" at the negotiating table by ruling out monetary union.
With his campaign in turmoil following news that two junior ministers and an estimated 200 Tory MPs had defied the government by outlining their opposition to a single currency in their election addresses, the Prime Minister tore up his planned speech and made an impassioned appeal to his party to support his "wait and see" policy.
In a 20 minute unscripted performance Mr Major told a packed press conference that he intended to confront the issue of Europe head on. "Whether you agree with me or disagree, whether you like me or loathe me, don't bind my hands when I am negotiating on behalf of the British nation," he pleaded.
Mr Major conceded that he was constantly being asked to rule out monetary union for the sake of party unity. However, he rejected this argument, insisting that Britain's prosperity was his priority.
"It would be splendidly decisive, they say, so splendidly decisive you would send the British prime minister naked into that conference chamber with nothing to negotiate, with nothing to wring the best deal out of our partners. I will negotiate in the interests of the UK as a whole, not in the convenient party political interests of the Conservative Party," he said.
Clearly annoyed that Mr John Horam, a health minister, and Mr James Paice, a junior education minister, had openly defied his orders by admitting their opposition to monetary union, Mr Major described them as "very unwise" and "foolish" but resisted calls to sack them.
"My policy has been, on an issue like this of such importance that we have never seen its like in the political lifetime of anyone alive today, that we would negotiate until we knew what was involved, and then we would decide having negotiated the very best deal for the United Kingdom", he explained.
However, few of his colleagues appeared to heed his words. Just hours after his press conference, another junior employment minister, Mr Eric Forth, announced his opposition to the single currency.
While the Euro sceptics remained defiant, Mr John Redwood, the former leadership challenger, refused to change his position. "I am a consistent man, I have thought it through. On principle, I oppose the single currency economically, constitutionally and politically. I do not think it can work", he said.
In an attempt at damage limitation; the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Michael Heseltine, suggested that the voters were not interested in the party's divisions, but were concerned about the issues.
Only Mrs Edwina Currie, the pro European Tory MP, expressed dismay at the behaviour of her party colleagues. She appealed to Mr Major to act. "Someone is in charge, but I'd like to know who is", she said.
Mr Major began his morning press conference by outlining the advantages and disadvantages of monetary union. He insisted that it would be "folly" to make a final decision without a "proper debate" on the implications.
"Can anyone honestly put their hands on their heart and say that they know for certain what the outcome would be if we were to decide now, precipitately, without the details? At this moment that never, in any circumstances, were we going to enter a European single currency? Can anyone truly know the answer to that question? I do not believe that anybody can honestly say that they do", he said.