PA • GETTY Thousands have signed a petition in protest at David Cameron's pro-EU 'propaganda'

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The Prime Minister will now be forced into a humbling debate on his controversial decision to spend nearly £10million of public cash on a Europhile leaflet after voters gave their damning verdict. Within hours of an online petition being set up, an astonishing 100,000 had signed to condemn the PM's plans, which provoked outrage amongst Brexit campaigners and sparked accusations the Government is using taxpayers’ money to ‘fix’ the upcoming referendum. The petition passed the magic number at 10.32pm last night, meaning it must now be considered for a debate amongst MPs in parliament.



By this evening more than 160,00 people had signed the online protest. Get Britain Out, which organised the mass protest, tweeted its thanks to all those who leant their support and said the petition could be debated by MPs as early as Tuesday.

The vast majority of those people signed it in the last 24 hours, since the Prime Minister confirmed the publication of the leaflet, to a huge outpouring of anger. It has provided an astonishing display of the depth of public feeling over the issue, with the rate of signatures accrued believed to be close to the fastest ever recorded on the Government’s e-petition website. The comprehensive manner in which the petition reached 100,000 signatures combined with the the growing anger amongst Mr Cameron’s eurosceptic backbenchers over his handling of the referendum means it is unlikely he will be able to avoid the humiliating Commons showdown. Several high-profile Tories publicly backed the protest including former Defence Secretary Liam Fox, who said the leaflet is "not within the spirit" of the referendum campaign. YouGov polling released today shows that 85% of people think the Government's leaflet will be biased and 58% disprove of it all together, according to the Vote Leave group.

AFP The petition is a humiliating blow for David Cameron

IG The petition passed 100,000 signatures at 10.32pm tonight

I can only encourage as many people as possible to sign it and send a clear message to the Government. Nigel Farage

Earlier Brexit campaigners expressed open outrage over the Prime Minister’s plan to splurge £9.3 million of public money on the proBrussels leaflets. The 16-page booklets, which will be delivered to every household in the UK, will tell voters it is best to remain in the EU at this summer’s in/out referendum. But the multi-million pound spend has sparked a furious political row, with the Prime Minister accused of trying to rig the EU referendum campaign in his favour.

The fury led to a surge in support for the petition on the Government’s official petitions website. Ukip leader Nigel Farage urged others to back the petition as he called on the Government “to do the right thing and withdraw this document”. He said: "I can only encourage as many people as possible to sign it and send a clear message to the Government. “It is our money and the Prime Minister doesn't have our permission to spend it in this way".

PA The leaflet will cost taxpayers £9.3 million

PA It has been dismissed as pro-Brussels propaganda by Brexit campaigners

Mayor of London Boris Johnson and former defence secretary Liam Fox have both hit out at the pro-EU leaflets being orchestrated by Downing Street at taxpayers’ expense. Justice Secretary Michael Gove, a fellow Brexit campaigner, said it was “wrong” for the Prime Minister to spend public cash on the leaflet instead of public services such as the NHS at a time of Government spending cuts. Eurosceptics also pointed to an earlier commitment by Europe Minister David Lidington to “make sure that the referendum is seen by both sides as fair”. The petition, titled ‘Stop Cameron spending British taxpayers’ money on Pro-EU Referendum leaflets’, was originally set up in December last year when it first emerged the Government was preparing a pro-EU dossier. At that stage, Mr Cameron had still yet to complete his EU renegotiation deal and was publicly insisting he was ‘ruling nothing out’ when it came to which way he would campaign at the referendum.

The petition states: “Prime Minister David Cameron plans to spend British taxpayers’ money on a pro-EU document to be sent to every household in the United Kingdom in the run up to the EU referendum. We believe voters deserve a fair referendum - without taxpayer-funded biased interceptions by the Government. “We, the petitioners, demand the Government STOPS spending our money on biased campaigning to keep Britain inside the European Union. “The Great British Public have waited since 1975 for a vote on our relationship with Brussels. No taxpayers’ money should be spent on campaign literature to keep Britain inside the EU. After 10,000 signatures the petition was entitled to a Government response, which read: “The EU Referendum Act 2015 commits the Government to provide information to the public on EU membership ahead of the vote, and that is what we will do.”

PA UKIP leader Nigel Farage had encouraged people to sign the petition

PA The PM is lurching from crisis to crisis over the EU