LABOUR must do more to stop the EU referendum being “hijacked” by Tories vying for the party leadership, former minister Yvette Cooper said yesterday.

Ms Cooper warned that the debate over Britain’s future was being used as a “increasingly hysterical battle” for control over the Tory Party.

She said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the whole party “should do more” to prevent the media fixating on personality politics and put real issues on the agenda.

“We can’t just leave this to become a battle between old boy networks in the Tory party,” she told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Pieenar’s Politics.

Ms Cooper, who supports the Remain campaign, argued EU rules on workers’ rights, such as paid holiday and paid maternity leave, prevented companies from undercutting on the continent.

But she said Labour should not hold back from criticising PM David Cameron over his vision for the EU simply because he wants to stay in Europe.

The Scottish Green Party also vowed to break with the PM’s agenda during its spring conference in Edinburgh this weekend.

Europe spokesman Ross Greer said: “We must challenge those who are technically on the same side as us in this in-out referendum.

“David Cameron’s idea of a better Europe is one where big business rules the roost and desperate human beings are turned away in times of need.”