Boris Johnson today came under increasing pressure to come off the fence over the European in-out referendum as Downing Street launched a final push to get a deal on new membership terms.
David Cameron announced he will hold talks with Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, in London on Sunday night after negotiations hit trouble.
He has also torn up tomorrow’s diary to dash to see Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels.
Tory eurosceptics said privately they doubt the Mayor of London will back the campaign to quit the EU and should make his position clear. One told the Standard: “Boris would make a great leader of the campaign to leave, but we suspect he will fall into line with the Prime Minister.
“But he should make clear sooner rather than later so that someone else can step up to the plate.”
Friends of the Mayor denied reports that he and Justice Secretary Michael Gove both plan to back the In campaign in return for a deal that would give Parliament sovereignty over decisions made in Brussels.
“He’s not agreed a deal with the PM on sovereignty, he’s seen no detail. He, like everyone else, will decide on the basis of renegotiation detail,” said a friend.
Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb became the latest senior minister to signal he will back the Stay campaign. Philip Hammond and Nicky Morgan have also said they will not vote for Brexit if Mr Cameron gets the deal he is looking for. The chances of a breakthrough at the February 18 summit are said to be on a knife-edge after other countries objected to Mr Cameron’s proposals to curb migration to the UK from Europe.
The Prime Minister scrapped a planned visit to Scandinavia tomorrow so that he could launch a diplomatic blitz to salvage the talks. “Other meetings are likely to be announced,” said an insider. Downing Street denied his re-arranged diary was a sign of panic. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Tuesday that it will be “much more difficult” to stage the referendum before the summer if no agreement is reached in February, and “impossible” if there is no deal before the end of March.
Mr Tusk has to decide early next week whether to bother tabling the UK renegotiation on the summit of February 18-19.
