Tory MPs rebel over BAE/EADS tie-up More than 40 Tory MPs have signed a letter to David Cameron, the prime minister, warning about concerns over the proposed merger of BAE Systems and European rival EADS, the FT has learnt. In a move that raises the political temperature on the landmark deal - which will create a Europe-wide defence and aerospace giant - the MPs will demand "clear safeguards" around the French and German shareholdings in the combined company. The letter comes just hours after Alistair Darling, the former Labour chancellor, told the Financial Times that Britain would be "taken to the cleaners" if the UK government did not have a direct stake in the company. France and Germany hold stakes in EADS, either directly or indirectly. "There is a danger that decisions in the defence and the commercial businesses could be taken on the basis of politics rather than what is best," Mr Darling said. The letter has been written by Ben Wallace, a Tory backbencher, and the signatories include a former defence minister, at least four ministerial aides and David Davis, one of the most senior figures in the party. It is a shot across the bows of Mr Cameron and his administration, which has been broadly positive about the deal on the basis that it has "commercial logic." Mr Wallace said he would visit Washington next week to gauge the US reaction amid expectations that BAE's American defence contracts could suffer as a result of the deal. He told the FT he had spoken to shareholders in BAE and there was not a supportive mood: "The shareholders just don't buy it, they see the rationale for EADS but not for BAE," he claimed. The full letter is likely to be published as early as Friday afternoon.