US 'ally of choice' for UK - Fox

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The United States should still be regarded as being Britain's "ally of choice", Conservative Shadow Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox has said.

It was essential to have a strong partnership with America, but as "partners not supplicants".

But Dr Fox did admit that many Conservatives "sympathise" with the UK Independence Party's policy on Europe.

He told GMTV's The Sunday Programme that the UK has a "naturally close affinity" with the US.

He said: "I think that there's a clear understanding that America, by virtue of history, of heritage, of culture, is our ally of choice.

"The point that many of us have been making for a long time is... we're partners not supplicants.

"There's only one party that's going to take Britain in the direction that those who vote Ukip would like to see, that is standing up more for Britain's interests, making sure that the decisions that effect the British people are made here in the UK.

"That's the Conservative Party."

'Perverse' decision

Meanwhile, Conservative leader David Cameron labelled the EU's "obsession" with a new constitution as "not just wrong-headed but perverse" in an article for The Sunday Telegraph.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made reviving the EU constitution a priority of her country's EU presidency.

Mr Cameron also said: "When the French and Dutch people rejected it, the EU responded by calling the voters 'wrong' and reviving the idea.

"This is typical. Faced with new challenges, the EU's reaction has always been the same - demanding more and more power from member states."