Last night I went head to head with Graham Stringer on BBC Radio 4, debating the proposed EU treaty.

You can listen to the whole discussion by clicking on the link on the Westminster Hour webpage here.

Another useful link:

John Redwood's latest return from the wilderness won him extensive headlines with his deregulation, red tape-cutting policy proposals. Many people couldn't believe the Conservatives returned to Redwood, though many of his ideas went down well with the right-wing press.

The TUC has produced a paper on what Tory deregulation, including the Working Time Directive, would mean. It's also a useful guide to what the EU's Social Chapter actually is. Click here to read.

The Sun has needlessly got its knickers in a twist over the Working Time Directive by claiming paramedics would have to finish their breaks before answering emergency calls. And who is to blame for this? Well the “barmy EU”. Obviously.

Of course anyone with any sense will realise this is patently quite ridiculous but the journalist responsible, Emma Morton, had few qualms about the truth and liberally dipped into the Sun’s big book of how to construct a Eurosceptic scare story to produce this shocker.

Even the most cursory reading of the working time directive would have revealed to Ms Morton that in the case of ambulance service workers and fire and civil protection services "derogations (ie exemptions) ....shall be permitted". In other words, ambulance crews are exempted out of the break provisions of the working time directive.

Still, the Sun has never let the facts prevent it from bashing the EU and Ms Morton slavishly follows the paper’s line with what appears no recourse to research.

Interestingly, exemptions to obligatory break provisions are also allowed for press journalists - and judging by the inaccuracies and distortions in Ms Morton's "story", perhaps she is due a lengthy break.


Addendum 16 December:

Although I wrote to the Sun pointing out their factual error, they did not print my letter, but instead printed another one yesterday from a James Cullen, saying how ludicrous these rules are and that they could mean the difference between life and death. He would be right, of course, if the rules actually said that - but the Sun is clearly not going to let its readers know the truth!

We voted today on the revision of the working time directive. The Labour MEPs have negotiated a compromise which, whilst recognising that the opt-out is bound to be phased out in due course, gives employers and employees greater flexibility in allowing the calculation of the 48-hour week to be made over a 12-month reference period. This will allow for large variations over the course of the year and will be welcomed by many small businesses, especially in those sectors where activity varies over the year.

This was a first reading by Parliament - in other words it is a package of suggestions submitted to the national governments who will consider it in the EU Council. They can accept it or amend it, notably to take account of any particular national concerns, and then send it back to Parliament for further consideration.