Former Conservative party leader and Kent MP Michael Howard says the UK should leave the EU, describing it as a flawed and failing project.

His intervention will be welcomed by campaigners calling for the UK to break away from the EU at the referendum in June.

Mr Howard, who stood down as the Folkestone and Hythe MP in 2005, said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph: “I had hoped that when the Prime Minister announced his intention to commence negotiations for a new UK-EU relationship he might be able to achieve fundamental reform along these lines.

“It is not his fault that those efforts met with failure.

"It is the fault of those EU leaders so mesmerised by their outdated ambition to create a country called Europe that they cannot contemplate any loosening of the ties which bind member states.

"There is only one thing that just might shake Europe’s leaders out of their complacency: the shock of a vote by the British people to leave.”

“The very facts that make it certain that the UK could thrive as an independent country – we are the fifth largest economy in the world, the most important military power in Europe and the country with by far the most stable and deep-rooted institutions – make us very valuable members of the EU. We would be sorely missed.

But his claims were dismissed by pro-EU campaign group Britain Stronger In Europe.

A spokesman said: "Michael Howard's approach would put Britain's economic stability at risk, causing damaging uncertainty for working families in the UK."

Would the country be better off if it left the EU or should we stay?

The argument is already underway and in Kent, the gateway to Europe, our politicians are split on the issue of a Brexit.

As part of the debate ahead of the June poll, our new political programme on KMTV is bringing together two of the county’s MPs to discuss the issue on Friday.

Ashford MP Damian Green, a Europhile who is taking a lead in the “stay” campaign and South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay, a Euro sceptic will be crossing swords on “PaulOnPolitics”.

Hosted by our political editor Paul Francis, we will try and cut through the political spin on this high stakes issue and answer the key questions.

We will also be hearing from one Kent business who says it would be damaging to the economy if we left.

The programme will be available to watch on KMTV from Friday evening at www.kentonline.co.uk/kmtv/ and you can tweet your comments and questions to us at @KMTV_Kent