Cameron survives humbling EU revolt in parliament

By Peter Griffiths

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron suffered an embarrassing blow in parliament on Wednesday when a third of his Conservative MPs voted against him in protest at his stance on Britain's membership of the European Union.

Though the revolt was defeated, the rebellion could undermine Cameron's leadership, as scores of his own party's MPs took the highly unusual step of voting to criticise his government's legislative plans, a week after they were first put before parliament.

The rebels are angry that the government's policy proposals did not include steps to make Cameron's promise of a referendum on Britain's EU membership legally binding.

The party turmoil has fuelled talk of Britain sliding towards the EU exit and has stirred memories of Conservative infighting that contributed to the downfall of former prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

While the vote was non-binding, the scale of the mutiny, less than two years before the next parliamentary election, will embolden eurosceptics pushing him to take a harder line on Europe.

Just before the vote, Cameron played down its significance, saying he was "extremely relaxed" about what was a free vote for Conservative MPs, except ministers.

"It's a free vote, and as I've said I'm relaxed about that, so I don't think people can read in anything to the scale of that free vote," he told reporters in New York, where he is on an official trip.

Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman said earlier that Cameron was "becoming a laughing stock".

A total of 130 MPs voted against the government. More than 100 of them were expected to be confirmed as Conservatives when the full voting figures are released later. The centre-right party has 305 members of parliament.

CAMERON'S DILEMMA

Cameron had hoped to end party squabbling over Europe in January when he promised to renegotiate Britain's relationship with the EU and hold a referendum on its membership before the end of 2017, provided he wins the next general election in 2015.

But Conservative eurosceptics soon began pushing for a law before 2015 to guarantee the referendum would take place. Some even called for an earlier referendum.

Cameron's offer on Tuesday of draft legislation that would make his pledge legally binding received a lukewarm reception. Rebels say it will be blocked by the Conservatives' coalition partner, the pro-EU Lib Dems.

Wednesday's parliamentary vote underscored how Cameron is boxed in over Europe.

Keen to avoid a rift with the Lib Dems, he must also avoid alienating Conservative eurosceptics who see the EU as an over-mighty "superstate" that threatens Britain's sovereignty.

The success of the anti-EU UK Independence Party in local elections this month only intensified Conservative pressure for Cameron to go further on Europe. A YouGov poll in April put support for withdrawal at 43 percent, with 35 percent wanting to stay in.

(Additional reporting by William James in London and Andrew Osborn in New York; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Will Waterman)

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Cameron to publish EU vote bill in bid to defuse party revolt

By Andrew Osborn

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Britain's ruling Conservatives will unveil a draft bill on Tuesday that could make Prime Minister David Cameron's promise of a referendum on Britain's European Union membership legally binding.

In a political gamble aimed at shoring up Cameron's leadership, the bill would pave the way for an in-out vote by the end of 2017 that will decide Britain's geopolitical and economic destiny for decades ahead.

However, the Conservatives are part of a two-party coalition and do not have a parliamentary majority, so the bill's chances of success aren't guaranteed. Rebels from other parties would need to support it too for it to become law.

Cameron's highly unusual decision to sanction the draft bill was announced in the United States on Monday evening and comes less than four months after he pledged to renegotiate the terms of Britain's EU membership and then hold an in-out vote before the end of 2017.

Many Conservatives say they want to be part of the EU's single market but want to ditch many other aspects of a relationship they fear is becoming increasingly anti-democratic and bureaucratic.

Cameron's referendum promise in January failed to satisfy Conservative critics who have been pressing him to bring forward the vote to before the next national election in 2015 or to pass a law committing the party to holding a vote by the end of 2017.

He decided to partially accede to their demands to try to end a public debate that has made his party look divided, threatening his own re-election chances.

"The Conservative Party will publish a draft bill to legislate for an in-out referendum by the end of 2017," a senior Conservative source told reporters in Washington after Cameron met U.S. President Barack Obama On Monday.

"We will examine all opportunities to bring the bill before parliament, including a private member's bill," the source said.

Conservatives believe the demarche should draw a line under weeks of internal bickering that has damaged the party's image while piling pressure on the opposition Labor party to explain why it doesn't favor such a referendum.

It will be hard for the Conservatives to push any referendum bill through parliament because it will almost certainly be opposed by their pro-EU coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats, as well as by Labor.

Despite the move up to 100 Eurosceptic Conservative members of parliament are still expected to back an amendment this week criticizing legislative plans unveiled by the government because they did not include such a bill.

Conservative lawmaker John Baron, one of the two figures behind the amendment, said Cameron's promise of a draft bill would not persuade him to back down.

"I am sticking by what I am saying. They know that this option could very well fail," he told Reuters. "A far better approach would be to have the courage to support our amendment on Wednesday."

Cameron came to power in a coalition government three years ago after telling his party in 2006 to "stop banging on about Europe", an issue that has divided the Conservatives for decades and helped bring down two of his predecessors, Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

But Conservatives in parliament have been rattled by the growing popularity of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which campaigns for Britain's withdrawal from the EU and tighter immigration laws. A Guardian/ICM poll showed on Tuesday that UKIP's support had surged to a record high of 18 percent.

UKIP's poll rating has climbed steadily since Cameron's EU referendum pledge in January, with the party taking a quarter of the vote in local elections earlier this month.

Labor, which has a 10-point lead over the Conservatives, said Cameron had "lost control of the agenda and lost control of his party" at a time when he should be working on reviving Britain's economy.

"This seems to be just the latest panicked response from the prime minister who is now following, rather than leading his backbenchers," Labor foreign affairs spokesman Douglas Alexander said in a statement.

(Writing by Andrew Osborn and Peter Griffiths, Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

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AP EXCLUSIVE: Police blamed in Egypt revolt deaths

CAIRO (AP) — The highest-level inquiry to date into the deaths of nearly 900 protesters during Egypt's 2011 uprising has concluded police were behind nearly all the killings and used snipers on rooftops overlooking Cairo's central Tahrir Square to shoot into the huge crowds.

The report, parts of which were obtained by The Associated Press, is the most authoritative and sweeping account of the killings and determines the deadly force used could only have been authorized by ousted President Hosni Mubarak's security chief, with the president's full knowledge.

The report's findings could weigh heavily in the upcoming retrial of Mubarak, his security chief — former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly — and six top police commanders. It is likely to also fuel calls for reforming the security forces and lead to prosecutions of policemen.

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