Dr Julian Lewis: In support of my hon. Friend's [Bill Wiggin's] contention, if he had nothing better to do on New Year's Eve, he might have heard the interview on BBC 1 news with the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi. In response to a question about the launch of the euro and whether the project was political, he said with a smile:

"This is not economic. This is ... a pure political process."