Cameron: No apology for EU veto

British Prime Minister David Cameron insisted today he would “make no apology for standing up for Britain” by deploying the UK’s veto to block a European Union treaty to bail out the euro last week.

But Mr Cameron was accused of making a “catastrophic mistake” by Labour leader Ed Miliband, who urged him to re-enter negotiations with the other 26 EU states to try to get a better deal for Britain.

The clash came in the final session of Prime Minister’s Questions before Christmas, at which Mr Cameron was flanked on the Government frontbench by his Liberal Democrat deputy Nick Clegg.

Labour MPs mocked Mr Clegg for exposing coalition rifts over Europe by staying away from the chamber on Monday for the Prime Minister’s statement on the Brussels summit.

Mr Miliband, who welcomed the Deputy Prime Minister back to his seat, said that Mr Cameron had promised the coalition Government would operate in a “collegiate” way, and asked: “What’s gone wrong?”

But Mr Cameron retorted: “No one in this House is going to be surprised that Conservatives and Liberal Democrats don’t always agree about Europe...

“I make no apology for standing up for Britain.”