Cameron branded ‘pathetic’ as Tory duo quit over U-turn

David Cameron was hit by two Tory resignations today and denounced as "pathetic" and "autistic" by the French foreign minister over his new policies on Europe.

Euro-MPs Dan Hannan, a rising star with Tory grass roots, and Roger Helmer both quit frontbench posts in the European Parliament in protest at the Tory U-turn on holding a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

In a searing attack, Mr Helmer dismissed as "cosmetic" and "ineffective" the new policies unveiled by Mr Cameron last night. That, however, paled beside the extraordinary abuse heaped on Mr Cameron by Pierre Lellouche, the French foreign minister. He said the new Tory stance would "castrate" British influence and cast the Tories to Europe's backwaters.

"It's pathetic," he said. "It's just very sad to see Britain, so important in Europe, cutting itself out from the rest and disappearing from the radar map." Mr Lellouche said the Tories showed a "bizarre autism" on European affairs and their new plans would not succeed "for a minute".

"They are doing what they have done in the European Parliament," he told the Guardian. "They have essentially castrated your UK influence."

Dismissing Mr Cameron's pledge to negotiate the return of powers signed away to the EU, Mr Lellouche jeered: "It's not going to happen for a minute. Nobody is going to indulge in rewriting [treaties for] many, many years."

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said Mr Lellouche's attack simply reflected the toughness of the Tory approach. "Will we be tougher negotiators [than Labour]? Yes, we will," he said on GMTV. "Will we occasionally get some abuse for that? Yes, we will."

Mr Helmer also dismissed Mr Cameron's plans. "What we have is an essentially cosmetic policy," he wrote. "We are installing a largely ineffective burglar alarm when the family silver has already been stolen."

Mr Hannan called for Tories to join him — fuelling speculation he is positioning himself as future leader of the Tory right.

Mr Cameron dropped his "cast-iron guarantee" for a Lisbon vote after the Treaty passed into law. In its place he pledged laws to ensure votes are held before future power transfers.