The Times reports on the status of the single currency "roadshow" which was announced by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown in June.

The prime minister and chancellor told reporters that they would "take the case to the country".

A Treasury spokeswoman said: "The roadshows have already started. It's been happening for quite a while. The chancellor has done stuff and various different ministers have been out and about."

However she was unable to name a single venue. "I'm not sure we know," she said. "There are so many different people out and about."

The Foreign Office, however said the programme of events had not yet begun. One senior minister told the Times that he believed the idea had most likely been dropped because it was "naff".

In a bid to boost his colleagues' resolve to campaign for single currency entry, Europe minister Denis MacShane has been circulating copies of a Blair speech around government.

MacShane believed the prime minister's address in Tokyo last month signalled a new phase in the pro-euro campaign but was largely overshadowed by the death of Dr David Kelly.