Former ministers rally to PM's side

Three former Cabinet ministers today warned Tony Blair not to give any more ground after his U-turn on the EU referendum.

Peter Mandelson, Stephen Byers and Alan Milburn also warned Downing Street not to use EU talks to manufacture "victories" over other countries at the expense of public trust in Europe.

The comments came in a joint article by the three which was written to rally Labour MPs and allies behind the Prime Minister after the heated row over last week's U-turn.

They urged Mr Blair's supporters not to let "the forces of anti-Europeanism" win the referendum debate. "Labour pro-Europeans need to put their all into fighting for a decisive victory," they wrote in today's Guardian. But in a swipe at Mr Blair's U-turn, they added: "If there is any lesson of last week, it is that there is nothing to be gained by giving ground to these people."

The three claimed the debate was vital to challenge falsehoods put about by Eurosceptics. "The forces of anti-Europeanism have been allowed to get away with the most outrageous misrepresentation of the facts without being properly challenged and have been permitted to pile on the pressure for a treaty referendum," they claimed.

They warned Mr Blair not to use the final weeks of negotiations on the constitution to spin news of dramatic breakthroughs that would diminish public trust in the EU. "It would be a mistake to hype issues beyond their real importance in order to claim some famous British negotiating victory," they said.

"Those tactics only heighten the perception that Europe is a conspiracy against the British national interest, when in fact it is a means of advancing our national interests through cooperation with our partners."

The article is the first time the three leading Blair loyalists have undertaken such a joint initiative despite being close allies. Their move was seen as a symptom of the lack of support Mr Blair has received from pro-EU big guns inside the Cabinet since he pledged a national vote on the controversial EU constitution.

Mr Blair was pointedly not supported in public by Education Secretary Charles Clarke while Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon was also said to be deeply dismayed.