LONDON, Nov 9: British diplomats have appealed to France not to hold a referendum on the new European constitution to avoid embarrassing Prime Minister Tony Blair, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, one high-ranking British official has privately told senior French diplomats that it would be “unhelpful” to Blair if Jacques Chirac, the French president, decided to go ahead with a poll in France.

British ministers were concerned that pressure for a referendum in Britain — firmly resisted by Blair — would escalate sharply if such a close neighbour as France opted for one.

An official close to Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told The Telegraph that no formal request would be made to the French government by London, but admitted that informal remarks might have been made between diplomats.

Blair has repeatedly argued that a referendum is not needed because it does not involve a fundamental change between the member states and the European Union.

Meanwhile, The Sunday Times reported that US President George W. Bush would for the first time raise American concerns over the planned EU constitution when he meets Blair during a state visit to Britain next week.

Bush would seek assurances that the constitution will not create a federal superstate which could pose a challenge to US authority and pursue a potentially hostile political and economic agenda dominated by Franco-German interests, the paper said. Negotiations between the EU member states on the constitution are continuing.—AFP