THE Kent leader of Conservative MEPs leader has urged his party to stop squabbling about when a referendum should be held about whether to remain in Europe.

Richard Ashworth, who heads the 26-strong Conservative group in Brussels, said the debate in the party was a distraction and unnecessary.

He also warned the row would lead voters to see the Conservatives as split - at a time when many have turned to UKIP.

His comments come as two ministers said that if a referendum was held now, they would vote to leave the EU.

Mr Ashworth said such comments were unhelpful and it would have been better if the pair - Michael Gove and Philip Hammond - had declined to say what they would do in a hypothetical sitaution.

Asked if he thought the Conservative party was “obsessing” about Europe, he said: “It has been an issue for the party for a very long time indeed but at the moment the main message we want to give is that the economy is far and away the biggest issue and in many respects, others see this as a distraction from what needs to be done in terms of the national debt.”

“It is perfectly clear we need to take measures to get the economy under control - these are the things that matter rather than internal quarrels.”

He also criticised MPs who were backing a Bill that would commit the government to holding a referendum and said a vote on whether to remain in the EU could not be held any earlier than 2017.

“I personally do not see the point of this proposal [the MPs’ bill]. The Prime Minister has committed himself to a referendum...it does give the impression of a split. It would be better to leave it to the time scale set out by the PM.”

It is thought that up to 100 MPs could back the so-called “mandate” Bill this week.