Questioning: Howard

The Tories have demanded the government "face the reality that the economic case for joining the euro does not exist".

Following a weekend of attempts by ministers to hold the government line over the five economic tests for Britain's membership of the European currency, shadow chancellor Michael Howard demanded that Number 10 make the political character of the UK's assessment of euro membership explicit.

"When will the government face reality over the euro? It is no use the prime minister's spokesman saying that the five economic tests must be clearly and unambiguously met. Both the man in charge of evaluating the tests, Gus O'Donnell, and the chairman of the Labour Party, Charles Clarke, have said the tests cannot be clearly and unambiguously met," he said. "So when will the government stop pretending black is white? When will they face the reality that the economic case for joining the euro does not exist?"

Downing Street had earlier reiterated the government formula that while the decision to call a referendum on euro-membership is political one, it can only follow a positive assessment using Gordon Brown's five economic tests as a criteria.

"We are committed in principle to joining a successful single currency. In practice, the economic tests have to be met. Self-evidently, any decision to call a referendum would be a political decision, in as much as it would be made by politicians," said the prime minister's official spokesman.

The political decision to go the country in a poll on the single currency will be taken by the cabinet, Downing Street confirmed on Monday, repeating that the government's position had not moved "one iota" since Tony Blair moved into Number 10 in 1997.

"We will only recommend [joining the euro] and obviously parliament will have to have its say as well if it is clearly and unambiguously in Britain's economic interests to do so," he said. "It will clearly be discussed in cabinet. There will be a decision taken by the prime minister and chancellor and cabinet."

Following Charles Clarke's weekend comment that "there will always be plenty of arguments about how the tests are done", Number 10 asserted that: "The tests are real. They are not a smokescreen or camouflage for a political decision. Clearly, politicians make decisions, therefore it is a political decision. But we are only going to make a decision if the economics are right."