British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair and chancellor Gordon Brown are going right to the wire this weekend with yet more haggling over the euro before Monday's publication of the government's verdict on the five tests for British entry.

Although the broad thrust of the decision is agreed, the prime minister and chancellor remain locked in debate over the detail. Some cabinet members were unsurprised last night that the two had yet to reach full agreement.

One weary minister sighed: "It's par for the course." Although the chancellor is certain to tell the Commons on Monday that the economic conditions for UK entry have not been met, pro-euro ministers hope Mr Blair can beef up a government commitment to publish a draft bill this year that would allow a euro referendum to be held before the next election.

Mr Brown will tell MPs that the UK will only enter the euro if this is judged to be in the national economic interest. But pro-euro ministers believe a commitment to enact a "referendum-paving bill" in the next session would keep alive hopes that a referendum could be held in this parliament.

The prime minister and chancellor want Mr Brown's statement on Monday to launch a vigorous debate on Britain's future in Europe that leads to a pro-European consensus.

They hope that debate will disguise their differences over euro entry and highlight deep Tory divisions over Britain's future in the European Union. To ram home the point, Mr Blair and Mr Brown will hold a rare joint news conference where they hope to extinguish speculation over who won or lost the arguments on the euro decision.

Earlier this week it emerged that most financial institutions in London did not think it mattered whether Britain joins the euro.

A privately commissioned report found financial institutions put it very low on their list of priorities, indicating instead that European regulation is a bigger issue. - (Financial Times Service)