Keeping UK together absolutely essential, says Cameron

“Keeping the United Kingdom together is an absolute paramount national interest for our country,” he told parliament. 

He also warned Britain faced troubled economic times after it voted last week to leave the European Union, but said the government would not abandon its rules on limiting public spending. “There’s no doubt in my mind these are going to be difficult economic times.”  

“If we do see economic difficulties, one of the ways we have to react to that is to make sure that our public finances and economy remain strong ... so I don’t think it would be right to suspend the fiscal rules,” he said, rejecting a call from opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn for more investment.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a government source said Cameron told a leaders’ dinner in Brussels that Britain and the EU should “have as close an economic relationship as possible and that the key to staying close is really to look at reform to free movement”. Cameron believed free movement was “one of the driving factors in people voting to leave”. 

“Therefore if you’re seeking to maintain a close economic relationship, you can’t shy away from this issue,” the source said. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she saw no chance that Britain might go back on its decision to leave the European Union. Speaking at the end of the first day of an EU summit, Merkel described talks with David Cameron as “serious” but “friendly.” 

French President Francois Hollande warned that Britain would lose access to the EU’s single market, and the City of London would no longer be able to act as a clearing house in euros, if the UK stopped free movement of workers from Europe. 

After David Cameron reported to an EU summit on last week’s referendum vote to leave the European Union, Hollande said single market access depended on accepting the so-called four freedoms of movement of goods, capital, labour and services. “If they don’t want free movement, they won’t have access to the internal market,” he told a news conference.