Labour divisions on the euro emerge in today's Guardian with a letter from 28 MPs and two peers branding the single currency as a "costly distraction" from the government's mission to improve public services.

The MPs - including Alan Howarth, Alan Simpson and Dennis Skinner - have signed a letter declaring: "The government was re-elected in June to repair our public services. We believe the euro is a costly distraction from this and deflects attention away from the NHS, schools and other sectors of the economy such as manufacturing."

The director for Europe at the Bank of England, John Townend, has warned that adoption of the single currency could pose "considerable risk" to the British economy.