Second World War veterans have hit out at the government for the low-key ceremonies which marked the 60th anniversary of VE Day yesterday.

The only MoD organised event was a wreath laying ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, which was attended by Prince Charles and the defence secretary, John Reid.

A spokesman for the MoD stressed that "the main focus" will be a week-long celebration in July.

Writing in the Mirror, Gordon Brown says: "I believe that what made our nation so great six decades ago endures today and makes Britain equal to any challenge ahead of us now."

Meanwhile, a senior European Commissioner accused Eurosceptics of risking a return to the Holocaust by clinging to "nationalistic pride".

Margot Wallstrom, a Swede and the commissioner who must sell the draft constitution to voters, argued that politicians who resisted pooling national sovereignty risked a return to Nazi horrors of the 1930s and '40s.