EU referendum: Cameron hits back at Boris Johnson over deal

David Cameron has mounted a defence of his EU reform deal after it was questioned in the Commons by London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Mr Johnson – among the big hitters exit campaigners are hoping will join their side – has said the prime minister is “making the best of a bad job”.

He asked the prime minister what the package would do to restore UK sovereignty and curb EU regulations.

Jabbing his finger on the despatch box to emphasise his point, Mr Cameron told his Conservative colleague: “I am not saying this is perfect, I am not saying the European Union will be perfect after this deal – it certainly won’t be – but will the British position be stronger and better? Yes it will.”

Mr Johnson has argued that it would be better if Britain was able to block EU laws on its own, without having to rely on the support of other member states.

Asked before the debate about whether he supported Mr Cameron’s reforms, he said the PM was making “the best of a bad job”.

But he added: “Most people looking at this will think there’s a lot more to do.”

Mr Cameron is aiming to get agreement from all member states at a summit in Brussels in a fortnight, paving the way for a referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU in June.

He told MPs the details would need to be pinned down during the course of the “intense” round of negotiations – but the draft deal hammered out with top EU officials was the strongest ever achieved on freedom of movement rules.

The prime minister urged Tory MPs to vote “with their hearts” based on what they believed was right for Britain and not what “might be advantageous” to them personally.

That did not stop Eurosceptic Tory MPs lined up to criticise it, with Jacob Rees-Mogg saying Mr Cameron had two weeks to salvage his reputation as a negotiator after serving up “thin gruel” which had been further watered down.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party wanted the UK to remain in the EU but he dismissed the prime minister’s renegotiations as a “smoke and mirrors sideshow” and said he had “ended up exactly where he knew he would be, making the case to remain in Europe”.

In a separate development, the first ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have written to Mr Cameron calling on him not to hold the EU referendum in June.

In a joint letter Nicola Sturgeon, Carwyn Jones, Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness warn that with elections in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in May, a referendum campaign running at the same time “risks confusing issues at a moment when clarity is required.”

They also say it would make it “virtually impossible” for political parties in these areas to work together on the referendum campaign while their own elections are in progress. Alan Johnson, who is leading Labour’s remain campaign, has said he will not oppose a June referendum.

Cabinet ministers for exit?

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Cameron insisted voters would be “perfectly capable” of coping with two separate ballots.

Downing Street says ministers have agreed not to challenge Mr Cameron until he has secured a final deal at a summit in Brussels in a fortnight.

But the BBC understands several Eurosceptic ministers – including Commons leader Chris Grayling – are discussing whether to break ranks before Mr Cameron announces the date of a referendum.

BBC