LONDON - The British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Kenneth Clarke, last night sought to brush off the latest controversy to hit the Tory Party on the issue of a single European currency. Mr Clarke had declared in a newspaper interview that he was "sympathetic" towards the idea of monetary union.
His comments were seen by the Tory right as coming close to breaching the Cabinet truce on the subject. However, in the Commons yesterday Mr Clarke reaffirmed the government's position that it remained an open question whether Britain would eventually join "if and when a single currency ever happens".
