British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Finance Minister Gordon Brown took the unprecedented step of going public to deny any rift over joining Europe's single currency.

But their political opponents said their denial only showed how deep the rift was.

The media have described the two men for months as being at loggerheads over the euro, saying Mr Blair wants to join the currency as soon as possible but Mr Brown, who is to deliver a verdict by early June on five economic tests for it, is opposed.

The two men's offices issued a joint statement "to make clear that the dogmatic positions being ascribed to them by some in the media should be ignored".

"Stories that (Blair) was determined to call a referendum this parliament, come what may and regardless of the five tests, were wrong," they said.

Mr Brown had also reassured cabinet colleagues "the ritual presentation of him as being more sceptical than the prime minister, and that as a matter of principle he is opposed to a referendum in this parliament, is wrong."

But if the purpose of the extraordinary statement was to quell speculation of a rift, it seemed to only spur on their political opponents.

"It is quite clear that Britain's national economic interest is coming a poor second to Labour's vicious infighting," Conservative Party treasury spokesman Michael Ancram said in a statement.

"This is a classic attempt to hide serious positions. The British public will not be taken in. It is time they stopped this silly subterfuge and got on with solving the problems in the public services which people really mind about."