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Howard sets out his Euro Credentials
Michael Howard has staked his claim to be the most Euro-sceptic candidate in
the battle for the Tory succession with a call for Britain to reclaim powers
from Brussels.
The former Home Secretary,one of six candidates for the party leadership,
said he believed there needed to be a fundamental renegotiation of Britain's
relationship with the European Union.
A new deal for Europe
Interviewed by John Humphrys on the BBC's "On the Record" he raised the prospect that the controversial Common Agricultural Policy could be scrapped as a part of a "new deal for Europe" which left only the "core obligations" of the Single Market.
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Howard:Euro expansion could all end in tears.
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"I think that we do need a new deal for Europe," he said "I think that if we continue down the road which seeks to impose an absolutely rigid uniformity on every member state of the European Union from Finland to Greece then it is all going to end in tears."
"I want us to be there in Europe leading the way towards a new vision of
Europe with much more room for the nation states - much more flexibility and adaptability."
"So while everyone signs up to the core obligations of the single market over
and beyond that different countries can combine for different purposes."
"So we may need to look at ways in which the nation states can recover
jurisdiction over their agricultural policy," he said.
Need to renegotiate
"I am suggesting that all these things should be the subject of a
renegotiation because I think that, particularly if we are to have an
enlargement of Europe which everyone says they want to see, I do not think that
the present structure can be sustainable." he said.
Mr Howard is expected to set out his position on Europe in more detail in a
pamphlet later this week.
"I did not threaten to over-rule Lewis"
After a week dominated by the row between himself and former Home Office Minister Anne Widdecombe, Mr Howard confirmed that he had not threatened to over-rule Derek Lewis over the future of the governor of Parkhurst prison.
During an interview on Newsnight earlier in the week he had been asked the question fourteen times, but refused to give a clear answer. Mr Howard said he had now checked records of the meeting, which happened two and a half years ago, and could confirm that he had always stayed the right side of the line, and had not threatened to over-rule Mr Lewis.
He said that in retrospect he should have told Mr Paxman that he would not answer until he had checked the records, ensuring that his answer was absolutely truthful and correct.
Former ministerial colleague Anne Widdecombe has alleged that he misled the House of Commons over the sacking of Derek Lewis. She is due to deliver the text of her comments to Mr Howard this afternoon before speaking in the Commons tomorrow night.
Commenting on the allegations, Mr Howard said " I look forward to answering these charges with relish. Of course I did not mislead the House of Commons"
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