Obamalight.

Barack Obama today waded into the row over Europe to warn Britain would lose its influence in the world if we quit the EU.

The President used a joint press conference with David Cameron in the White House to send a clear message to the Tory right demanding an UK exit.

“The UK’s participation in the EU is expression of its influence and its role in the world; as well as a very important economic partnership,” Mr Obama said.

And he threw Mr Cameron a lifeline by backing his attempts to get changes from Brussels before putting British membership to a referendum.

“You probably want to see if you can fix what’s broken in a very important relationship before you break it off. That makes sense to me,” the President said.

But he appeared to raise doubts about Mr Cameron’s ability to exact any changes.

He said it would “interesting” to see how successful the negotiations were before delivering a final judgment.

His comments came as a weakened Mr Cameron tried to regain control of his Cabinet as he slapped down senior ministers calling for Britain to leave the EU.

In a rare intervention in another country’s internal politics, Mr Obama suggested the Special Relationship between the US and the UK hinged on our being at the heart of Europe.

“We have a special relationship with the United Kingdom. And we believe that our capacity to partner with a United Kingdom that is active, robust, outward-looking, and engaged with the world is hugely important to our own interests, as well as the world,” he said.

Mr Cameron, buoyed by the President’s comments, said holding a referendum now as Tory MPs are demanding would “not in the national interest”.

“There’s not going to be a referendum tomorrow because it would give the British public an entirely false choice between the status quo and leaving.

“And, I don’t think that is the choice the British public wants or the British public deserve,” he said.

The Prime Minister saw his trip to Washington DC for talks with Mr Obama overshadowed by the increasingly bitter Tory civil war on Europe.

In a rebuke to Michael Gove and Philip Hammond, he said there would be no early poll on British membership and said those calling for withdrawal were “very strange.”

The two ministers deepened the Tory divisions by saying they would vote for Britain to leave the European Union if there were a referendum now.

Their comments piled pressure on Mr Cameron to rush forward the date of the in-out vote before the 2015 general election.

They also spurred on backbench Tory Eurosceptics who vote on Wednesday on an amendment expressing regret there was no legislation in the Queen’s Speech for an early referendum on British membership of the EU.

To head off the rebellion, Mr Cameron has been forced to allow ministers to abstain and will let ministerial aides vote against the Government.

No 10 tried to lean on Tory MP John Baron to withdraw the amendment, which now has the backing of more than 70 MPs but was met with a blunt “no.”

Mr Cameron, who will still be in the US when the vote takes place, is looking increasingly helpless at controlling his party.

Former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said the Tories were starting to look “unfit to govern”

Sir Malcolm said the crunch Commons vote was a personal blow to the PM’s standing.

He said the Tory rebels had “split their own party, cast questions over the Prime Minister’s authority and they will be helping the Labour party’s prospects at the next election.”

He added: “It is quite contrary to all the political instincts of a responsible political party.”

“The Prime Minister cannot encourage his ministers and indeed himself to go through the lobbies supporting an amendment which is criticising the Queen’s Speech.

"That would not only diminish his authority, and also split the Coalition; the public will not be impressed.

"Conservative backbenchers who feel strongly on this issue have to decide who do they want to win the next general election?”

Speaking on the plane to Washington DC, Mr Cameron hit out at those saying they would vote for a British exit if a poll were held now.

“There isn’t going to be a referendum tomorrow, so it’s a hypothetical question,” the PM said.

Mr Cameron made clear he was sticking to his timetable of having the referendum in 2017 if he is re-elected.

All Conservative Cabinet ministers were behind this policy, he claimed.

“When we have the referendum before the end of 2017 we give the British public a real choice, a proper choice. Every Conservative cabinet minister is confident that we will be able to deliver those changes and so that is what we are pushing towards.

“What matters is making sure we do everything we can to reform the European Union,” he said.

He also hit back at his former boss Michael Portillo who claimed Mr Cameron lacked the clout to get the changes he wanted from Europe.

“With great respect for Michael Portillo - I remember working as his special adviser many years ago - but the point I would make to these people is to give up before a negotiation has started seems to me an extraordinary way to go about things.”

He added: “The idea of throwing in the towel before negotiations have started is a very strange opinion.”

Education Secretary Michael Gove sent shock waves through the Tory Party when he became the most senior Cabinet minister to declare he would vote No if a referendum was held immediately.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond also declared he wanted out of the EU unless there were major reforms.

Former Cabinet minister Lord Forsyth became the latest party grandee to call for the UK to quit.

“I certainly want us out of the EU if there is a referendum, not because we’re leaving the EU but becasue the EU is leaving us,” he said.

He claimed David Cameron’s negotiating position with the EU was fundamentally flawed.

“I think there’s a confusion here. The idea that you could get the whole of the rest of Europe to do a special deal for Britain, many of them would have to have referendums in their own country to achieve it and that they wouldn’t want their own partiuclar changes to the club I think is wrong,” he said.

Labour Europe spokeswoman Emma Reynolds insisted that Labour had not ruled out a referendum for all time.

“We are not in favour of a referendum now and not in favour of a referendum at some arbitrary point in the future,” she said.

She added: “It beggars belief that the Prime Minister, who is leader of the Government, is almost encouraging - or apparently ‘relaxed’ about -

his own MPs voting against his Government’s programme.”

Gordon Brown claimed the Tories were becoming as right wing as Enoch Powell, who infamously said immigration would result in "rivers of blood."

The former Prime Minister said: "A party which was once pro-Europe is now anti-Europe, a party which was once anti-Powellite on immigration is now becoming very close to being Powellite on that issue."

He added: "On almost any issue, you can see the Conservative party doing U-turns. U-turns on alcohol prices, U-turns to legislate on overseas aid, U-turns on gay marriage.

"I suppose the new term isn't U-turn, it's Ukip-turn.

"I say to the Conservatives, Ukip if you want to, we're going to stick to what we believe in."