Boris Johnson believes that leaving the European Union could be a shot in the arm for British democracy. The London Mayor declared that the country should be prepared to walk away, if a renegotiation on our terms of membership fails to get results.
Political Correspondent Simon Harris reports.
David Cameron is cutting short his visit to Europe to return to Britain after the death of Margaret Thatcher.
London Mayor Boris Johnson has thrown his support behind David Cameron's speech this morning on the European Union. The Prime Minister promised an in/out referendum on the UK's membership of the EU by the end of 2017 if the Conservatives win the next general election.
– Boris Johnson, Mayor of London"David Cameron is bang on. What most sensible people want is to belong to the single market but to lop off the irritating excrescences of the European Union.
"The future of London is to remain the financial and commercial capital of Europe, to have a unique relationship with America - and to build our growing position as the capital of the BRICs and other emerging economies.
"That is a deal that would be in the interests of Britain and of Europe. If it is put to us in a referendum, I have no doubt that the British people would vote for it."
Boris Johnson has called for a referendum on whether the UK should stay in the European Union, saying he wanted to be friendly with Europe but free to trade with the rest of the world.
In a speech to news agency Reuters, the Mayor called the Euro "a calamitous project" and said he believed the government needed a change of tactics in order to give London and the rest of the UK the best chance to thrive in the global economy.