MOTORWAY tolls will not be forced onto the people of Hampshire, the Prime Minister has promised.

Tony Blair told the Daily Echo during a visit to Portsmouth that plans to put electronic tolls on the M3 were only an "experiment".

Deputy PM John Prescott is due to reveal later this week that the M3 and a motorway near Edinburgh will be pilot areas for a government project designed to cut traffic on congested routes.

Mr Blair said the toll experiment gave the government a chance "to test out theories". He said: "It's not going to be imposed on people who don't want it."

Southampton civic leaders have so far been cautious about possible road tolling into city centres, saying any system must distinguish between commuters and people coming into the city centre to shop.

The AA has welcomed Mr Blair's pledge. Spokeswoman Rebecca Rees said: "Road tolling is totally unfair and motorists don't want it. We know from our research that 55 per cent of people would vote against anyone who tries to price them off the road."

The Prime Minister was in Portsmouth for some last-minute campaigning for tomorrow's Euro elections.

Labour seem certain to lose some of their European seats in the vote tomorrow, thanks to the introduction of proportional representation.

But Mr Blair seemed resigned to the loss: "It was bound to lose us seats but it's a fairer system." And he urged a strong vote as he posed for pictures in front of a mocked-up ballot box. "It's important we send the right people to Europe where they can have influence," he said.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.