William Hague on government EU budget defeat

The government has been defeated in Parliament on the EU budget after 53 Conservative MPs defied their party over the issue.

Tory rebels joined with Labour to pass an amendment calling for a real-terms cut in spending between 2014 and 2020.

The coalition says the budget must be frozen in real terms as a very minimum.

The amendment is a blow to David Cameron's authority on Europe before key talks next month.

The Foreign Secretary William Hague gave his reaction to the defeat.