“George Osborne said on the Today programme that ‘It is in everyone's interest that we make the euro work, 'I told you so' is not much of an economic policy’ – but this is not the issue. It is not an economic policy to integrate into more European economic policy-making and governance, particularly when it has failed. What we need is repatriation and deregulation to help small businesses and growth.

“Today, George Osborne says the Coalition needs more time for its plan to boost Britain’s growth – we need it now and linking up with European economic governance is the opposite way to go. The issue is that they are claiming to be Eurosceptic when in fact they are giving us more Europe, not less. Where it is in our national interests, a bilateral loan, outside the Euro-framework – whether it is ‘the facility’ or the Euro Stability Mechanism – we can live with.

“The Stabilisation Mechanism is not triggered by Qualified Majority Vote – it is only the final decision which is governed by QMV and the Commission and the Member States have driven a coach and horses through the rules laid down for that mechanism.

“The European facility which is only for the eurozone has 440bn euros which could solve the Irish problem on its own but Germany and others want Britain to be caught up in the web of the Stabilisation Mechanism, wrongly signed up to by Alistair Darling – and we are going along with it all. What therefore is the point of an opt-out on this? We are being trapped into a situation of more Europe, not less.

“This of course affects our sovereignty. It was the same with the City of London where we gave over our jurisdiction on financial services but claimed to have mere supervision. The same happened with the European Investigative Order. Over and over again, we are told we are resisting integration when in fact we are going along with it.

“On the issue of sovereignty, the European Scrutiny Committee will conduct an inquiry into the European Union Bill, setting out the circumstances under which further transfers of competence and power to the EU will be subject to a referendum or will require an Act of Parliament or a Resolution of both Houses – and into the specific issue of parliamentary sovereignty and the wording of Clause 18. The inquiry begins at 4.30pm today in public.

“The real problem as I have said is one of stability and growth. To achieve growth of small and medium sized businesses you need deregulation. Nick Clegg has ruled this out and the issue is therefore a Coalition issue.”