Eurosceptics’ rise in British cabinet reshuffle may rebound on Cameron

David Cameron has dramatically hardened his government's Eurosceptic stance for a battle with the European Union, but may have weakened his hand and increased the risk that Britain could crash out of the 28-nation bloc, analysts said.

In a purge of his cabinet on Tuesday, the British prime minister named Philip Hammond as his foreign secretary, picking a man who has said he would vote for Britain to exit the bloc in its current state.

Cameron then puzzled many commentators by picking a largely unknown ex-public relations man, Jonathan Hill, as Britain's next European commissioner.

Analysts say neither move will boost Cameron's hopes of renegotiating Britain's relationship with the EU before holding an in-or-out referendum in 2017, as he has vowed to do if he is re-elected next year.

They could even push Britain closer to an accidental departure, a situation that Cameron has said he did not want, as he supported membership of a reformed, less federal version of the EU.

"The danger of a political accident, in the sense that you have a 'No' vote in a potential referendum, that danger has increased," said Janis Emmanouilidis of the Brussels-based European Policy Centre.