Redwood: "No false promises"

John Redwood has committed a future Conservative administration to a major renegotiation of Britain's place in the European Union.

In a frank interview on Thursday the party's deregulation spokesman said the Tories would seek to repatriate a swathe of policy from Brussels.

And he refused to rule out Britain's exit from the European Union should the renegotiation bid fail.

Redwood told the FT the package of reforms would be put forward as soon as a Tory government secured a "no" vote in a referendum on the proposed EU constitution.

"I have said what I want to say. We will negotiate the best deal for Britain," he added.

Whilst he said such a goal would be achievable, Redwood admitted he had "no idea" how long it may take to secure a wholesale renegotiation.

"I'm not going to make false promises about that kind of thing," he said.