Seizing on the pound's sharp fall against the euro, pro-single currency campaigners claimed yesterday that Britain is within reach of a positive referendum vote.

Sterling closed yesterday at just under 65 pence per euro - less than two pence away from the 67 pence level said by some experts to be the government's target for membership.

Meanwhile, Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith told Tories in London that he would take a leading role in the campaign to save the pound and challenged Tony Blair to hold a referendum now.

US group Massey Ferguson blamed government vagueness over euro membership for a decision to shift production to France, with the loss of 1,100 jobs in Coventry.