Euro 'no' vote will damage UK, says Straw

Britain will be left "weak and marginalised" if it rejects the new EU constitution, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw warned today.

Mr Straw said that the draft constitutional treaty signed by EU leaders in October was in line with Britain's vision of a slimmed-down Brussels.

And he dismissed Tory demands for a wide-ranging re-negotiation of the country's treaty obligations as "a disaster for Britain's interests".

The Government is committed to putting the constitution to the public in a referendum which Mr Straw has indicated is unlikely to be held until

2006. This means the constitutional treaty - which must be ratified by all member states if it is to take effect - may have been rejected by one of the other countries committed to a referendum by the time Britain votes.

However, in a speech to the Centre on European Reform, Mr Straw warned that Britain could find itself isolated if it said "no" to the constitution.

"If we approve this constitution, we will be making our kind of Europe, a Europe in which Britain is strong," he said. "If we reject it, we will end up with a weak and marginalised Britain."