LABOUR Euro-sceptic Lord Shore last night waded into the internal Tory squabble over Europe, attacking former deputy premier Michael Heseltine as a ''fanatic''.
In a speech to the cross-party Bruges Group, which is hostile to the creation of a single currency, the Labour peer said Tory leader William Hague's comments in Paris two days ago were ''no more than common sense''.
His statement is unlikely to surprise the Labour leadership as his views are well known. But they totally oppose Tony Blair's position on Europe.
Lord Shore said: ''What William Hague had to say about Europe in Fontainebleau two days ago was no more than common sense. It is only pro-European fanatics like Michael Heseltine that would dream of calling it extremist''.
Mr Hague had claimed the creation of a single currency would ''push the limits of union'', warning of civil unrest if the EMU project went wrong.
Lord Shore continued: ''After all, the essence of our continuing problem with Europe is that many of our continental neighbours are committed to an ever closer union that is tantamount to creating a European state - a united states of Europe - which we in Britain insist on retaining the powers of self-government and our own parliamentary and democratic control.''
In what appeared to be a direct challenge to the Prime Minister, Lord Shore said: ''British political leaders, in both Government and Opposition, will be doing our own country and our European neighbours a service if we are honest with them and with ourselves, if we don't fudge and conceal our differences and if we make it plain to our European neighbours that the British people will not permit to be imposed upon them laws and policies written in Brussels.''
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