BURY North's MP has suggested European leaders should reflect on whether they did enough to keep Britain onside before the EU Referendum.

David Nuttall, who has long campaigned for Britain to exit the European Union, asked a question of outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron in Parliament on June 29.

After thanking Mr Cameron for his speech on the topic of EU referendum aftermath and for the hard work he has done over the past six years to "protect UK interests at European Council meetings," Mr Nuttall asked Mr Cameron: "With respect to the (European Council) meeting on June 28, did you detect any regret on the part of the other EU leaders that they did not make more concessions you sought to renegotiate our terms of membership?"

Mr Cameron replied: "That is a very good question.

"The sense in the European Council was that it had bent over backwards to give to a country that already had a special status — out of the euro (currency) and out of the Schengen (border control) system — things that they found profoundly uncomfortable.

"Many of those countries really do believe in ever-closer political union, however wrong we might think it is here in this country.

"They hated saying to Britain: 'Right, you are out of this.'

"That really pained them, but they did it.

"They particularly disliked having to agree to cut welfare benefits for their own citizens, because that is what they signed up to do.

"I believe, and will always believe, that it was a good negotiation. It did not solve all of Britain's problems, and I never said it did.

"It certainly addressed some of the biggest concerns that the British people had.

"I would like to know whether there is more that could have been done, but the very strong sense that I get is that this issue of full access to the single market and reform of free movement is very, very difficult.

"We achieved some reforms of free movement, but the idea that there is an enormous change to free movement, particularly from outside the EU, is a very tough call and people have to think that through very carefully before we get into the (post-Brexit) negotiations."