£9.3m pro-EU booklet '˜will influence voters'

Eurosceptic John Redwood claimed the move is an abuse of taxpayers’ cash and an “insult” to voters.

Fellow Eurosceptic Sir William Cash said it was “propaganda” and “unfair on the British tax-payer” who is having to carry the burden of the cost.

Europe minister David Lidington defended the booklet - which is to be delivered to households across the UK ahead of June’s referendum.

He said the Government is not neutral in the EU debate, and was therefore able to release the material.

He also commented that the leave campaign are still to put forward a convincing set of arguments on why Britain would be better off outside the EU

The leaflet will be sent to 27m homes with English households targette first and then to Scottish households after elections to the Scottish Parliament in May.

Today the campaign to remain in the EU will hear from former Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, who will say “no nation in human peacetime history, never mind Britain, has voluntarily given up as much political power as we are being invited to throw away on June 23.”

Now in charge of the International Rescue Committee, the former Labour front-bencher will say that under his watch Britain was a “firefighter” in world affairs and leaving Europe “would be an act of arson on the international order.”

Employment minister Priti Patel MP, who is campaigning to leave the EU, said Mr Miliband has seemed to have forgotten his role in Tony Blair’s Government which she believes “relentlessly surrendered national powers to the EU”.

Mr Miliband’s signing of the Lisbon Treaty when he was Foreign Secretary which ended member states having the power to veto certain policy areas, and move to a system of majority voting.