Obama calls on British people not to vote to leave the EU

US President Barack Obama walks down the steps of Air Force One as he arrives at Stansted Airport near London, Britain April 21, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - US President Barack Obama made an impassioned appeal on Friday for Britain to remain in the European Union, saying membership had magnified Britain's place in the world and made the bloc stronger and more outward looking.

Fearful that a British exit could weaken the West, Obama arrived in London to applaud Britain's EU membership which he said had helped make the world freer, richer and better able to tackle everything.

Praising Britain's "outsized" influence in the world, Obama invoked the interlinked history of the two countries and the tens of thousands of Americans lying in European war graves as his reason for speaking as "a friend" on the June 23 referendum.

"The European Union doesn't moderate British influence - it magnifies it," he wrote in an article placed on page 20 of the Daily Telegraph newspaper under the headline "As your friend, I tell you that the EU makes Britain even greater."

"The United States sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures that Europe takes a strong stance in the world, and keeps the EU open, outward looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of the Atlantic".

Obama is due to meet US embassy personnel and families before a lunch at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday, and her husband Prince Philip.

Obama is scheduled to hold talks afterward with Prime Minister David Cameron, followed by a news conference.

Campaigners for Britain's EU membership, including Cameron, who is leading the "In" campaign, will welcome Obama's intervention, which led news broadcasts on British television.

But the president's comments drew scorn from opponents of Britain's EU membership.

New York-born London Mayor Boris Johnson, who heads the "Out" campaign, said that he did not want to be lectured by Americans about EU membership and that the United States would never countenance such a transfer of sovereignty.

"For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy -- it is a breathtaking example of the principle of do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do," Johnson wrote in the Sun newspaper.

"It is incoherent. It is inconsistent, and yes it is downright hypocritical," Johnson said.

Opinion polls indicate that British voters are leaning towards the "In" camp but many remain undecided. "In" campaigners are concerned that young voters may not turn out to vote.