Merkel 'personally' hopes Britain votes to stay 'part and parcel' of EU

Britain should stay in the EU to ensure it has a "seat at the bargaining table" in the future, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has said.

Asked about her view on the impending membership referendum in the UK, Ms Merkel revealed she "personally" hoped Brits would vote to remain come June 23.

Cooperation between member nations and the UK over the single market "has always been very good", she said, as she urged the country to help it develop for the "digital age".

She warned that Britain would not get the same "quality of compromise" if it was outside the EU, and sharing the costs of the single market as well as its benefits.

"No one individual country on its own is able to bring about good results. It would be not only be in our interests, but also in the interests of Britain, when it can bring its whole political weight to the negotiating table as part and parcel of the European Union," she added.

ITV News deputy political editor Chris Ship said the development was a significant one, due to the power Ms Merkel would wield over Britain's fate - whether that be inside, or outside, the EU.

Leave campaigner Boris Johnson said the interventions from EU leaders showed they had "hit the panic button" but Remain campaigners defended the statements.

Former foreign secretary and Remain supporter, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, told ITV News it would be "pretty dumb" for Britain to expect to influence the EU from outside of the bloc.

He said it was right for world leaders like Mrs Merkel and US President Barack Obama to enter a debate within other nations.