BRITISH?foreign secretary William Hague raised doubts about the future of the euro yesterday, saying it was impossible to know whether the currency would collapse.

Former Conservative Party leader Hague, a vociferous and long-standing critic of European monetary union, said he "hoped" that the euro would survive, but added: "Who knows?"

His comments came as talks continued about the possible need to bail out Ireland.

Asked whether the euro could collapse, Hague told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Well I hope not... If an economist knew that, let alone a politician, they would be very gifted people..

"No one has pointed out more of the problems than I have over the years in having a currency where we lock together the exchange rates and interest rates of countries with different economies."