Leaders to back Juncker, leaving Britain isolated

British Prime Minister David Cameron set out a last-ditch case against the nomination of Jean-Claude Juncker for European Commission president on Friday, trying to enforce a point of principle that raises the risk of Britain leaving the European Union.

Cameron sees the former Luxembourg premier as lacking the will and the skills to reform the EU and told fellow leaders bluntly they were about to make a mistake in backing him - warning of unspecified "consequences".

But he was set to be outvoted 26-2 if, as expected, he insists on an unprecedented vote among EU leaders. Germany's Die Welt newspaper called him "the loneliest man in Europe".