Brit Hints At Euro Adoption

British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced a plan to adapt computers and cash registers for the euro - the most significant signal yet of his government’s willingness to abandon its sterling currency.

“We can no longer afford to pretend either that the euro does not exist or that Britain should not prepare actively for it,” Blair told the House of Commons, to jeers from opposition Conservative Party legislators.

Conservatives, who have ruled out joining the euro for nearly a decade or longer, said Blair was trying to make adoption of the new European single currency appear inevitable before holding a referendum.