Cameron facing MPs over EU deal

David Cameron is attempting to sell his EU reform package to MPs as Boris Johnson expressed doubts about whether it was a good deal for the UK.

The London Mayor - among the big hitters exit campaigners are hoping will join their side - said the PM was making "the best of a bad job", reports BBC.

But he added: "Most people looking at this will think there`s a lot more to do."

Mr Cameron is briefing MPs about the deal aimed at keeping the UK in the EU.

He is aiming to get agreement from all member states at a summit in Brussels in a fortnight, paving the way for a referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU in June.

Downing Street says ministers have agreed not to challenge Mr Cameron until he has secured a final deal.

But the BBC understands several Eurosceptic ministers are discussing whether to break ranks before Mr Cameron announces the date of a referendum.

In a separate development, the first ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have written to Mr Cameron calling on him not to hold the EU referendum in June.

In a joint letter Nicola Sturgeon, Carwyn Jones, Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness warn that with elections in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in May, a referendum campaign running at the same time "risks confusing issues at a moment when clarity is required."

They also say it would make it "virtually impossible" for political parties in these areas to work together on the referendum campaign while their own elections are in progress. Alan Johnson, who is leading Labour`s remain campaign, has said he will not oppose a June referendum.

At Prime Minister`s Questions, Mr Cameron insisted voters would be "perfectly capable" of coping with two separate ballots.

He was urged to rule out a June referendum by the SNP`s Westminster leader Angus Robertson.
Mr Cameron said: "There is no agreement, so no date has yet been fixed for the referendum."