Jeremy Clarkson shocked campaigners in the EU referendum today by announcing he wants Britain to remain in the EU – and help create a 'United States of Europe' with 'one army and one currency'.

The outspoken former Top Gear star claimed it would be better for the UK to be part of a well-run Europe than to stay outside, where it would have 'little influence'.

He said the continent should be a 'liberal' and 'kind' balance in a world that could soon be dominated by American presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Clarkson, who used his Sunday Times column to announce his decision, took a swipe at Boris Johnson at the same time as cheekily revealing he fancied David Cameron's wife Samantha.

Jeremy Clarkson (pictured left) announced he was backing the campaign for Britain to stay in the EU today and also cheekily revealed he fancies David Cameron's wife Samantha (pictured right after winning The Great Sport Relief Bake Off 2016)

CABINET EU REBEL GOVE IS ON THE BRINK OVER ROYAL BREXIT ROW Cabinet Euro rebel Michael Gove was fighting for his political life last night after he appeared to confess leaking the Queen’s comments about the EU. Pressure on Justice Secretary Mr Gove to quit grew after he said The Sun, which claimed last week the Queen ‘backs Brexit’, did not get ‘all’ its information from him. His comments were seen by some as close to an admission of guilt. They were seized on by Tory MP Sir Nicholas Soames who said: ‘Michael is a man of the highest integrity, and if on this occasion he has made a terrible misjudgment, I am sure he will know the right thing to do.’ David Cameron defended Mr Gove last week after he appeared to deny being to blame – but added it was a ‘serious matter’, a clear hint Mr Gove could face the sack if it was true. The row follows a claim last week in The Sun that the Queen told former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at a lunch in 2011 that the EU was heading in the wrong direction. Buckingham Palace and Mr Clegg denied the claim. Mr Gove, who was also present at the lunch, issued a half-hearted denial. But rumours he was the source gained strength after it emerged he dined with Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Sun, a few days before the media mogul’s wedding to Jerry Hall last weekend, which Mr Gove also attended. Advertisement

'It's being billed by the media as some kind of personal heavyweight showdown between Bouncing Boris and Call Me Dave,' Mr Clarkson wrote, referring to the rivalry between the Prime Minister and Mayor of London, who are battling each other on opposing sides of the EU debate.

'Which would mean we'd have to choose between a man who has screwed up London's roads to indulge his love of a Victorian transport system. And a man whose wife we quite fancy,' the controversial presenter added.

Mr Clarkson, 55, admitted the EU had its problems but said they could be solved if leaders were held to account by the press in Britain, where 'an MP cannot even put a cup of coffee on expenses without being torn to pieces'.

'Isn't it better to stay in and try to make the damn thing work properly?' he asks. 'To create a United States of Europe that functions as well as the United States of America? With one army and one currency and one unifying set of values?'

Mr Clarkson's intervention will surprise many as he is known for his politically incorrect views and his disdain for the red tape generated by bureaucracies such as the EU.

He is part of David Cameron's 'Chipping Norton set' and once hinted he might stand for Parliament against Ed Miliband in his home town of Doncaster.

However it is not the first time he has expressed pro-EU views. He first called for a 'one currency, one army' Europe in a column in 2014.

'I long for a time when I think of myself as a European first and an Englishman second,' he wrote in June 2014. 'I crave a United States of Europe with one currency, one army and one type of plug.'

Politicians: Mr Clarkson said the Continent should be a 'liberal' and 'kind' balance in a world that could soon be dominated by American presidential hopeful Donald Trump (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (right)

Buckingham Palace fights to stop Queen being dragged into EU debate… as Michael Gove jokes he might be sacked over alleged leak

Buckingham Palace is fighting to repair the Queen's reputation after being 'dragged' into the EU referendum campaign, it emerged today.

Fears have grown that not enough has been done to ensure Her Majesty is 'above politics' following newspaper reports that she is backing Britain's withdrawal from the EU.

Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary, appeared to confess leaking private comments by the Queen that she was a 'Eurosceptic', which led to The Sun claiming last week that she 'backs Brexit' and his political career is at risk after David Cameron said he would punish the source of the leak.

The Queen (pictured with David Cameron outside No. 10 Downing Street in 2011) was alleged to have backed the Brexit campaign

Mr Gove even joked last week that he might lose his job.

The Palace has denied the Queen is 'backing Brexit' and complained about last week's reports to the newspaper regulator Ipso.

But revealing the extent of the Palace's concerns over the politicisation of the Queen, a Whitehall official close to the Palace and Number 10 told the Sunday Times today: 'There's a concern and a need to draw the Queen back out of the political space.'

She has been seen to make a series of political interventions over the last couple of years.

In the Scottish independence referendum she was lent on by Downing Street to warn voters to 'think very carefully' about whether to leave the UK.

Last year she used a speech at a state banquet in Germany to warn that 'division in Europe is dangerous'.

And her grandson Prince William last month gave a strong signal he was backing Britain staying in the EU after he said uniting with international allies was the 'bedrock of our security and prosperity'.

A cabinet minister warned that any more perceived political interventions from the Royal Family would put the future of the monarchy at risk.

The Cabinet minister told the Sunday Times: 'We cannot put the Queen in a position where she is dragged into national political debate.

'The implications for the monarchy are quite serious if that happens. We must do more to protect the Queen.'

Courtiers at the Palace are understood to want ministers and officials to do more to safeguard the Queen's neutrality and to avoid her being drawn into the EU referendum campaign ahead of June's vote.

Following last week's claims that the Queen told former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at a lunch in 2011 that the EU was heading in the wrong direction, speculation has grown that it was Mr Gove who leaked the details of the private discussion as he was only one of five guests of Her Majesty at a lunch in Windsor Castle.

He is one of the leading voices in the Brexit campaign and the Queen's backing would be a major boost for the campaign to leave the EU.

Following last week's claims that the Queen told former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at a lunch in 2011 that the EU was heading in the wrong direction, speculation has grown that it was Mr Gove who leaked the details of the private discussion as he was only one of five guests of Her Majesty at a lunch in Windsor Castle

Pressure on the Justice Secretary to quit grew after saying yesterday: 'I don't know how The Sun got all its information.'

His carefully-chosen comments were seen by some as close to an admission of guilt.

They were seized on by Tory MP Sir Nicholas Soames who said: ‘Michael is a man of the highest integrity, and if on this occasion he has made a terrible misjudgment, I am sure he will know the right thing to do.’

Mr Cameron defended Mr Gove last week after he appeared to deny being to blame – but added it was a ‘serious matter’, a clear hint Mr Gove could face the sack if it was true.

The row follows a claim last week in The Sun that the Queen told former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at a lunch in 2011 that the EU was heading in the wrong direction.

Buckingham Palace and Mr Clegg denied the claim. Mr Gove, who was also present at the lunch, issued a half-hearted denial.

But rumours he was the source gained strength after it emerged he dined with Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Sun, a few days before the media mogul’s wedding to Jerry Hall last weekend, which Mr Gove also attended.

Mr Gove’s allies last night claimed he was being targeted by Tory foes because he had defied Mr Cameron by leading the ‘Out’ campaign in the EU referendum.

Sir Nicholas is a leading supporter of the campaign to stay ‘In’ the EU. He is a close friend of Prince Charles, but vehemently denied he had spoken to the Palace before criticising Mr Gove.

Pressed again, he stuck to precisely the same form of words. It left some to draw the inference he had given the paper some of its information.

Shortly after Mr Gove’s statement, Sir Nicholas, referring to Mr Gove by his ‘Gover’ nickname, tweeted: ‘Is the Gover now owning up to an inexcusable mistake in breaching an oath and a confidence? If so, now very serious consequences.’

Like all Cabinet Ministers, Mr Gove took an oath to the Queen on becoming a Privy Counsellor promising never to reveal conversations with her.