LONDON The President of the Bank of England, Sir Eddie George, on Tuesday warned against Britain's adopting the new euro currency, joining the debate that has erupted anew with Prime Minister Tony Blair's new cabinet appointments.

Sir Eddie told the BBC that the current weakness of the euro, pegged at 0.8537 dollars on Tuesday, was the hurdle for a premature entrance into the European Monetary Union (EMU).

He said he expected the euro to gain in value against the dollar after some time, and that's when Britain should reconsider the issue.

Blair advocates acceptance of the euro, but triggered new debate on the issue last week by removing as Foreign Minister Robin Cook, an outspoken advocate of Britain's integration into Europe's new money system, which started this year on paper and will begin circulating currency next January.

Cook's top advisor, David Clark, attacked the euro-skeptical Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown on Tuesday for exercising a negative influence on Britain's euro-readiness, DPA reported.

Blair was reelected by a landslide majority, even though most Britons oppose joining the euro currency. Clark charged that Brown was making it even more difficult for Blair to take the necessary steps to keep Britain competitive in the European economy by joining the EMU.