British entry into the euro is not inevitable, Tony Blair said yesterday.

Speaking to the BBC, the prime minister said: "There's nothing inevitable about it, but it is important that we don't ignore the reality of it."

"Obviously in principle we're in favour of Britain joining the single currency. But the economic tests aren't camouflage, they do have to be met. The question is, can we say that the case for Britain is clear and unambiguous?," he added.

Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, John Bercow, claimed that Blair's stance on the euro was governed by an alleged ambition to become president of the European Commission.

Speaking to GMTV, Bercow said: "He is hell bent on dragging Britain into the euro, with a cost he will not calculate, for a benefit he cannot quantify and a risk to the self government of the British people that he will not admit."