Iain Duncan Smith has said that Barack Obama's upcoming visit to the UK is the result of David Cameron begging him "on bended knee" to help "bully the British people" into remaining in Europe.

Speaking in Washington on Monday the former Conservative Party leader seconded Boris Johnson's assertion that it was hypocritical for an American president to pressure Britain to stay in the EU, given America's own historical emphasis on independence.

He dismissed the White House's claims that Mr Obama, who will arrive in the UK on Thursday, simply plans to advise Britons as to what he believes is in their best interest.