Charles Kennedy has accused the government of political cowardice for its failure to provide "a clear timetable" leading to a euro referendum in 2003.

In a speech on Sunday, the Lib Dem leader dismissed Labour's insistence on five economic tests for the European single currency and indicted faint-hearted prime ministers, past and present, for failing to act in the UK's interest.

"Be in no doubt, the arguments over euro membership in Britain are not at heart economic anymore. They are political. We have had successive governments which have been terrified of courting political unpopularity. And as a result they have failed to act in the country's best interests," he said.

UK citizens "may be sceptical about events in Europe but can be persuaded to change their minds if the effort is made", Kennedy claimed during an inauguration speech to the European Senate of Honour.

And he pledged the Lib Dems to lead from the front with a call for a referendum on the single currency no later than 2003.

"I have called for a clear timetable leading to a referendum no later than next year. And I intend to lead from the front, spelling out the case for British membership. I will make it absolutely clear that this is a patriotic case. It is in Britain's interests to join the euro," he told his Antwerp audience.

Honoured for "efforts to promote peace and unity, both on a national and international scale" - he was nominated by the former Conservative PM, Sir Edward Heath - Kennedy revealed the origins of his Christian name while playing tribute to Europe's contribution to harmony between nations.

"My own uncle, my mother's brother, was killed in the Second World War. He was a merchant seaman. I was named Charles after him. Of course I did not know him, and my mother has always told me how much I have missed. I think my generation has a duty to keep the memory of people like my uncle alive by working for the unifying cause of Europe," he said.