EU referendum: Vote Leave accuses Prime Minister David Cameron of 'crying wolf' over claims Brexit could 'lead to war'

In a speech setting out the "patriotic" case for a Remain vote, he said the bloc had reconciled warring nations. The Prime Minister also warned that peace could be jeopardised by Brexit.

READ MORE: David Cameron says Brexit would hamper fight against Islamic State and put peace at risk

He insisted there is "strength in numbers" as he argued that staying in the 28-member bloc was crucial in the fight against Islamic State (IS) and dealing with a "newly belligerent" Russia.

Vote Leave said "claims that leaving the EU and taking back control would somehow lead to war smack of desperation" and insisted the safe option was to quit.

Asked if there was a danger voters would think he was "crying wolf", Mr Cameron said: "I would just say look at the speech, look at what I've said, consider the arguments. No-one can doubt that Europe has had a violent and turbulent history.

"These are facts. I am not arguing that the EU alone has kept the peace in Europe these last 70 years because, of course, Nato played a key role."

Britain must be strong in Europe if it wants to be strong in the world, the Prime Minister insisted during the speech at the British Museum.

"The serried rows of white headstones in lovingly-tended Commonwealth war cemeteries stand as silent testament to the price this country has paid to help restore peace and order in Europe," he said.

"Can we be so sure that peace and stability on our continent are assured beyond any shadow of doubt?

"Is that a risk worth taking?

READ MORE: David Cameron says Brexit would hamper fight against Islamic State and put peace at risk

"I would never be so rash as to make that assumption."

Mr Cameron said the referendum would decide the "destiny" of the country and would have "real, permanent and direct consequences" for everyone in the UK.

The rise of a "newly belligerent" Russia, the fight against IS, also known as Daesh, and the migration crisis require "unity of purpose" and underlines the need for co-operation, he said.

Nato remains the "cornerstone" of national defence and "top military opinion" is clear that the EU is a "vital" reinforcement to the organisation, the PM added.

Mr Cameron attacked those who want the EU to collapse and claimed if Britain triggered such a move it would be an "act of supreme irresponsibility".

"Now is a time for strength in numbers. Now is the worst possible time for Britain to put that at risk. Only our adversaries will benefit."

Warnings by two former spy chiefs - Lord Evans of Weardale, former director-general of MI5, and ex-MI6 chief Sir John Sawers - that Brexit could harm the country's ability to fight terrorism were "unmistakable", Mr Cameron said.

He added that the Paris and Brussels attacks were a reminder that "we face this threat together and will only succeed in overcoming it by working much more closely together".

Mr Cameron insisted border controls were not enough in the fight against terror.

"It takes a network to defeat a network and European measures are a key weapon," he said.

"I don't argue that if we left we would lose any ability to co-operate with our neighbours on a bilateral basis, or even potentially through some EU mechanisms.

"But it's clear that leaving the EU would make co-operation more legally complex and make our access to vital information much slower and more difficult," he said.

Mr Cameron said membership of the EU "magnifies" Britain's power.

During its membership of the bloc, the UK has taken foreign and defence policy decisions "in our own interests", including "liberating the Falkland Islands in a great feat of military endeavour", freeing Kuwait from Iraq and the mission in Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister said: "The idea that the EU has emasculated our power as a nation: this is complete nonsense."

Asked why he called the referendum if the consequences of the UK leaving could be as dangerous for the world as he claimed, Mr Cameron said: "I think it's right to have the referendum.

"This is a great act of sovereignty for the British people, that's a great act of democracy. I have always believed we are better off in a reformed EU."

The Prime Minister denied that the open warfare among Cabinet ministers over the issue would make it impossible for them to work together again.

"We are working in Cabinet today," Mr Cameron said, as he defended the move to allow ministers to speak against Government policy on EU membership.

"It is an unprecedented act for 40 years, but it is the right thing to do."

Mr Cameron was welcomed on stage by Labour's former foreign secretary David Miliband, who said it was right for "conventional political divides to be put aside in the national interest" in the EU debate.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that he will not share a platform with the Prime Minister during the referendum campaign, but Mr Miliband said: "One of the things people dislike about politics is when people refuse to work together even though they agree. So now is the time to come together, to spell out the facts, and settle the argument."

He added: "I believe profoundly and to my core that Britain risks a gratuitous and dangerous act of political self-harm on June 23.

"Withdrawal from the European Union would damage this country, weaken our allies and embolden our enemies. It is causing alarm from Washington to Canberra to Delhi to Berlin, precisely because it would be an unprecedented breach in the shared purpose and shared institutions that have bound together western, democratic countries since the Second World War.

"Withdrawal from the EU would be the greatest voluntary renunciation of political power by any country in peacetime history. And that is why the Project Fantasy of a strong Britain outside the EU needs to be exposed. It is just a fantasy to believe that Britain will negotiate trade deals on its own terms, lead on climate change or protect ourselves from instability in the neighbourhood outside the EU."

READ MORE: David Cameron says Brexit would hamper fight against Islamic State and put peace at risk