Airstrip One

Trust The People? - 26th February 2003, 22.33

If it's good enough for devolution, it's good enough for national sovereignty.

The government swept aside Tory demands for a referendum in Britain on whether to adopt a new European constitution. Many of the proposals published by the convention on the future of Europe this month were immediately dismissed by the government as unacceptable.

Foreign Office minister Denis MacShane stressed the plans would be discussed at an inter-governmental conference where government heads would take unanimous decisions. The outcome would be put to parliament before ratification.

Mr Ancram warned that no democratic government had the right to surrender "such fundamental areas of sovereignty without the specific consent of the people".