The Amicus trade union could withdraw funding from a key pro-euro campaign group, Derek Simpson has said.

Simpson, who takes over as union chief from the ousted Sir Ken Jackson in January, pledged to ballot union members to ensure cash was not spent on "euro propaganda".

The engineering union is one of the biggest funders of Britain in Europe, and any withdrawal of funding would seriously dent the Yes campaign if Tony Blair presses ahead with a referendum.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World At One, Simpson said that when taking up office he would order a review of the mount of cash given to Britain in Europe as union members had "no idea" of much they were donating.

"I want the union's money spent on the members, not euro propaganda," he said.

"It would be my view to try to establish what our members' view of the euro was in order to ensure that our policy reflects their position.

"Is it appropriate to be spending money in supporting a particular campaign - how much money are we spending?"

He said that after surveying the union's members, it was possible that the position would remain the same, but he did not "exclude the possibility that it would be something different".

"I certainly question spending money on something that our members, first of all, didn't know about, secondly, didn't agree with and money that could be spent on things that relate to benefit directly for the members," said Simpson.

"I don't necessarily subscribe to the view that our members would want us spending their money in this way."

A spokesman for Amicus said Simpson was speaking "in a personal capacity".