Tony Blair’s longest serving minister for Europe has launched a stinging attack on the European Union’s now mothballed constitution, saying it was proposed “at the wrong time, by the wrong people, in the wrong manner”.

Denis MacShane, who as Europe minister from 2002 to 2005 was responsible for promoting the draft constitutional treaty, says he was “horrified” at the way some of his ministerial colleagues wanted to promote it as a “constitution” when it was really a new “rule book”.