PRIME Minister Tony Blair has defended the Government's plans for a huge expansion of house-building in parts of Kent.

In an interview with BBC Radio Kent, he said: “It is essential we do it and that is why the Thames Gateway will benefit by up to £600million of infrastructure and why John Prescott has just announced around £9million for Ashford.

"I understand concerns about development but we need to…it will be extremely good for the local economy.”

On the future of train services in the county, he re-iterated a pledge that the Government would “consider carefully” how Kent’s mainline stations would be able to use the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

He also rejected calls by Conservative leader and Folkestone MP Michael Howard to allow a referendum on the European Constitution.

Mr Blair said he did not accept that there should be a vote and denied that any agreement would mean that the UK would no longer have control of important domestic issues.

“[It is] for the same reason that when Michael Howard was in Government, they did not give people a vote on the Maastricht Treaty or the Single European Act. There is a procedure which allows for it in some countries but the majority are not,” he said.

“What I claim is that Britain will not yield up anything [which will] not allow us to set our own taxes, our criminal justice system or our foreign or defence policy.”

He said the enlargement of the European Union meant a new constitution was essential as Europe could not cope under the existing rules.