Wrong for us to bail out Greece, says David Cameron

David Cameron today said it would be "quite wrong" to make British taxpayers bail out the Greeks amid signs that he was walking into an European summit ambush on the issue.

The Prime Minister used a press conference in Prague this afternoon to tell France, Germany and the 13 others who sit with Greece in the single currency club that they should not pass the begging bowl to outsiders.

He will spell it out again at a dinner of the 27 EU leaders in Brussels tonight, saying that as the eurozone members do not allow countries like Britain to have a say in their talks they should not expect handouts.

"The British, as we're not members of the eurozone, have not been involved in these discussions at all, so it would be quite wrong now to ask us to contribute," Mr Cameron said during his brief stop in Prague.

However, there were fears that other countries were ganging up on Mr Cameron and could force the issue to a vote in which he would have no veto power. A German government official was quoted saying that Greece would need loans from the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM) to which all 27 countries - including Britain - contribute.

British diplomats hurriedly contacted German chancellor Angela Merkel who assured them that she agreed with Mr Cameron. But that did not rule out an ambush by other leaders. Under EU rules, Greece could get loans under a qualified majority vote. Britain would not have a veto.

Mr Cameron said that Britain was already propping up the euro by lending money to Ireland and Portugal: "But this is a different situation, a different country, and I don't believe the European Financial Mechanism is appropriate."

He added: "We have had assurances from the Germans that this will not be the case."