Britain must be ready to 'walk out' on European Union, Matt Hancock says The suggestion that Germany, one of Britain's most significant allies in Europe, would be willing to help David Cameron secure meaningful reforms on immigration is a timely boost for the Prime Minister. Ed Miliband will attempt to counter backroom briefing against his leadership this week with a major speech on Europe, while Mr Cameron is braced for a backlash over the expected loss of Rochester and Strood to the UK Independence party in an forthcoming by-election. Mr Cameron has pledged to hold an in-out referendum on EU membership by the end of 2017 should the Tories win a majority next May - a promise not matched by Labour. Appearing on BBC One's Sunday Politics, Mr Hancock was repeatedly asked to state if he would vote to leave the EU if David Cameron's plan to renegotiate the UK's relationship with Brussels failed. ""It isn't about how I vote [in a referendum], it's about how the public vote. The fact that there is a referendum at the end of this negotiation helps to strengthen the hand of those who negotiate it," Mr Hancock said. Everybody knows that if you want to get the best price for your carpet, you have to be prepared to walk out of the souk. He added: "If there were a No in the referendum, by the British people, then of course we'll follow through on that." In a separate interview, Dr Ammon, German ambassador to the UK, explained reports that Ms Merkel believed it was worth letting Britain leave to protect the principle of freedom of movement. What she said was that she wants to work with Britain on reform and she accepts the abuse of free movement of people. This should be addressed jointly, we are ready to work there together," he told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend. And then she said we would not support giving up the right of free movement of Labour, which is one of the four freedoms which makes up the single market and these four pillars belong together. He added: "I have confidence in the British character; I believe British pragmatism is a resource you can be proud of, and in the end pragmatism will prevail. So, of course there are issues that need to be addressed; Europe needs reform. So, we would be willing to work with you to make Europe more competitive, more effective, have better regulation, all this. We can be wonderful partners in this because we share so many interests.