MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

PM Cameron furious with Barroso for comments on Tories European elections prospects

“The Barroso thing did annoy me because, frankly, his job is to serve the members of the European Union”

British Prime Minister David Cameron has hit back at European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso after he warned the Tories were heading for defeat at the hands of UK Independent party in next year’s European elections.

The Prime Minister said Mr Barroso should show respect for British Conservatives in the European Parliament and stop trying to lecture them. He said he expected that there would be a “pretty robust” exchange next time they spoke.

PM Cameron vented his anger after Barroso clashed with Martin Callanan, leader of the Conservatives MEPs, in the parliament in Strasbourg.

The commission president compared the Tories to UKIP saying they were becoming increasingly Euro-sceptic and warning that voters would prefer the original and not the “copy”.

Speaking to Iain Dale on LBC 97.3 radio, Mr Cameron made clear that he did not appreciate the intervention.

“The Barroso thing did annoy me because, frankly, his job is to serve the members of the European Union and the British Conservatives in the European Parliament are an important party,” he said.

“They are the governing party of the United Kingdom and he should be respecting their views rather than trying to lecture them.

“They’ve got an important contribution to make and I think he got it wrong, and I’ll tell him that.

“We have a good relationship, I get along with him. We sometimes have some pretty robust exchanges and I suspect this will probably be one of them.”

However, Mr Cameron played down reported remarks by French President Francois Hollande, who was said to have accused the Prime Minister of making a “schoolboy error” in losing the Commons vote on Syria.

“Francois Hollande, I get on with very well. He’s an extremely reasonable fellow,” he said. “Over the issue of Syria we’ve worked very closely together.