US president Barack Obama told the BBC in an interview excerpt that aired last night that Britain must remain in the European Union to maintain its global influence.
Britain’s EU membership “gives us much greater confidence about the strength of the transatlantic union,” Mr Obama said.
British prime minister David Cameron, seeking to end a decades-old rift within his Conservative Party over Britain’s place in Europe, has promised to negotiate a new settlement with Brussels and hold a referendum on EU membership by the end of 2017.
Mr Obama also said his biggest frustration was the failure to pass “common-sense gun safety laws” in the United States.
“If you look at the number of Americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism, it’s less than 100. If you look at the number that have been killed by gun violence, it’s in the tens of thousands,” he said.
“For us not to be able to resolve that issue has been something that is distressing,” he added.
It is the latest sign of the importance Washington places on the UK remaining in the EU, after comments made by Mr Obama at the G7 summit of world leaders in Germany in June. – (Agencies)