Europe referendum vote is meaningless, says Nigel Farage

A senior Conservative MP has criticised his backbench colleagues for trying to force a vote this week on legislating for an EU referendum.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind told the BBC that he believed the MPs were acting very foolishly and were showing poor judgement.

However, Nigel Farage, leader of UKIP, said the move showed Conservative MPs fear they will lose their seats if they refuse to take a stand on Europe.