UK could curb eurozone refugees

The Prime Minister insisted contingency plans are in place and he would do “whatever it takes” to protect the UK.

The comments, in evidence to the influential Commons Liaison Committee, came with fears still running high over the future of the currency union and as a spokesman for the Greek government said it was preparing to present “alarming” data to international debt inspectors in a bid to renegotiate the terms of its bailout agreements.

Debt inspectors from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF are due in Athens today and with the country in its fifth year of recession, with unemployment topping 22 per cent, roughly double the eurozone average, the Greek government will argue it cannot withstand the current pace of austerity terms.

Asked about the danger that Britain could be seen as a safe haven for migrants if the situation worsened, Mr Cameron replied: “We obviously have contingency plans for all sorts of different eventualities. That is the right thing for a government to do when there is so much uncertainty.

“I think the legal position is that if there are extraordinary stresses and strains it is possible to take action to restrict migratory flows. But obviously we hope that does not happen.”

Mr Cameron added: “I would be prepared to do whatever it takes to keep our country safe, to keep our banking system strong, to keep our economy robust. At the end of the day as Prime Minister that is your foremost duty.

“I hope it wouldn’t come to that but as I understand it the legal powers are available if there are particular stresses and strains.”

The premier told the MPs it would be in Britain’s interests for the eurozone to make the steps towards integration that would stabilise the single currency.

But he said the most likely outcome of current efforts would be to “kick the can down the road”.

He batted away calls for an early referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, urging “tactical and strategic patience”.

“It is difficult to know exactly the direction that the eurozone will go in, and that’s why we should show tactical and strategic patience about this,” he said, adding EU states were going to have to make very difficult decisions about giving up areas of sovereignty and restricting areas of their democracy.

“They are going to have more controls on what they can spend and what they can tax. That’s a decision for them, it’s not a decision for us.”

Mr Cameron denied that banking union in the eurozone would trigger a referendum.

“If the 17 countries of the eurozone bring about a banking union for themselves – which I frankly think they need to do in a single currency – if they do that at the level of the 17 and we can get proper safeguards in place, then that wouldn’t be a fundamental change for us,” said the Prime Minister.

Mr Cameron said the balance of powers between Westminster and Brussels is not right and he wants to bring some powers back.

But he admitted the idea was a major fault line with the Liberal Democrats. He said he was planning a speech in the autumn setting out his thinking on repatriating powers from Brussels, and hoped to achieve a consensus.

But – in an apparent reference to his Lib Dem coalition partners – he acknowledged that other parties would have to conduct their own debate on the issue.

“There is an opportunity not just for our party. I think other parties will want to have their own debate. As the European Union develops and integrates, what is the right answer for Britain?”