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September 30, 2000 

LONDON, SEPT 29 (AP) - Denmark's rejection of the European single currency won't affect Britain's own decision on joining the euro, the government said Thursday.

"The people of Denmark have made their decision. The British people have the same right to make their decision for Britain," said Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, echoing earlier comments by Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"Tonight's result does not alter the fact that it is in Britain's interest to keep our options open. This result does not change British policy," Cook added.

Britain's Labor Party government has said it supports joining the euro "in principle," but has yet to fix a date. It has outlined five economic tests the euro must meet first. A decision to join would then have to be approved by Parliament and submitted to the people in a referendum.

"This result does not alter the fact that huge numbers of British jobs are dependent on our membership of the European Union or that a successful euro is in our interests whether we are members or not," Cook said.

But anti-euro campaigners said the result of the Danish referendum made it more likely Britain would keep the pound.

"This vote blows out of the water Labor's scare tactics on the euro," said opposition leader William Hague of the Conservative Party.

"They claimed that Britain would be isolated if we keep the pound. We are not. They claimed euro membership was inevitable. It is not. They claimed Europe must be one size fits all. It must not."

Lord Lamont, chief of the treasury under a former Conservative government and a leading opponent of the euro, said: "Plucky Denmark has done it again.

"Ordinary people, just like the markets, have seen through the euro," he added.

Britain's business community remains split on the merits of joining the single currency.

Simon Buckby, campaign director of the pro-euro group Britain in Europe, said Denmark's decision was "irrelevant" to Britain.

"Denmark is a small country, very different to Britain and their referendum is irrelevant to the debate here," he said.

Nick Herbert, chief executive of Business for Sterling, said the Danish vote "sends the clearest possible signal to the British government."

"If the euro can be rejected by a small country like Denmark which has close economic ties with Euroland then the euro lobby must realize that is will be rejected by Britain," he added.