US President Barack Obama has said it would make sense for the UK to try and improve its relationship within the European Union rather than to exit the EU. Speaking with the British Prime Minister at a joint press conference in Washington, Obama stressed the special relationship between the UK and America, before recognising David Cameron's pledge to seek EU reform.

"You probably want to see if you can fix what's broken in a very important relationship before you break it off makes some sense to me. And I know that David's been very active in seeking some reforms internal to the E.U. Those are tough negotiations. You got a lot of countries involved. I recognize that.

Mr Cameron is visitng America whilst division in his party over EU membership is growing. In the past few days senior Conservaties Lord Lawson and Michael Portillo have called for Britain to exit the EU, with cabinet ministers Michael Gove and Philip Hammond also saying that they would vote to leave if a referendum were held tomorrow.

At the press conference, Cameron emphatically refused the notion of an early referendum.

"Look, there's not gonna be a referendum tomorrow, there's a very good reason why there's not gonna be a referendum tomorrow, is because it would give the British public, I think, an entirely false choice between the status quo -- which I don't think is acceptable, I want to see the European Union change, I want to see Britain's relationship with the European (sic) change and improve -- it'd be a false choice between the status quo and leaving.

The Conservatives are to publish a draft parliamentary bill to legislate for an in-out referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, to be held by the end of 2017.

Written and presented by Alfred Joyner