European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker has admitted that the tax payer funded organisation has a task force nine staff to “coordinate” an effort to keep Britain in the EU. The admission that the task force will undertake “information activities” will raise concerns over EU tax payer funded propaganda aimed at Britons in advance of the vote next year.

Mr Juncker admitted to UKIP’s Patrick O’Flynn MEP: “The Commission has decided to create a Task Force for Strategic Issues related to the United Kingdom referendum. It will coordinate the Commission’s work on all strategic issues related to the UK ahead of the referendum.

“In a later phase it will oversee the Commission’s input into information activities in the run-up to the UK referendum.

“In addition to its Head, the Task Force will consist initially of six administrators and two assistants.”

Mr O’Flynn commented: “I am grateful to President Juncker for being reasonably open about the Commission preparing to launch a propaganda offensive designed to keep Britain in the EU.

“The British public will no doubt already be familiar with what the Commission considers ‘information activities’. If Mr Juncker has in mind something similar to the material that is circulated to schools then I think propaganda would be a more accurate label.

“While this unit is relatively modestly staffed by Brussels standards, I note that Mr Juncker says that nine is merely its ‘initial’ size and I will be looking closely to see if it is expanded and by how much in the months ahead.

“In my view the referendum should be a matter for the British people alone and European Union institutions would be well advised to keep out. However, if this attempt to skew the referendum battleground were to prove counter-productive it would come as no surprise.

“British voters do not like anything that smacks of interference with fair play.”