British government queries CBI lobby group's EU stance

LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) - The British government on Monday questioned the approach it said one of the country's most influential lobbying groups was taking to Prime Minister David Cameron's European Union reform drive, urging it to rethink its stance.

Cameron wants to renegotiate the country's relationship with the EU on issues like welfare, migration and competitiveness before holding an in/out referendum before the end of 2017.

The outgoing president of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) last month urged businesses to defend Britain's membership of the bloc, saying it was time for them to "turn up the volume" to make sure voters heard their view.

But Sajid Javid, the business secretary, suggested the CBI was weakening the government's renegotiation effort by stating unequivocal support for remaining inside the EU regardless of how successful Cameron's renegotiation is. He asked it to pitch the case for reform to other businesses in Europe instead.

"You know how negotiation works. You wouldn't sit down at the start of a merger or acquisition and, like a poker player showing his hand to the table, announce exactly what terms you were prepared to accept," Javid said at a CBI dinner, according to extracts of his speech.

"It doesn't work in the boardroom and it won't work in Brussels." (Reporting by William James; Editing by Andrew Osborn)