By Paul Majendie

LONDON, May 30 (Reuter) - Britain delivered an angry response on Thursday to European Union proposals that would mean cutbacks of up to 40 percent in its already hard-pressed fishing fleet. Fisheries minister Tony Baldry was stepping up an already angry war of words with Europe over beef, fish and baby milk. Reacting to cutback plans put forward on Wednesday by EU Fisheries Commissioner Emma Bonino, Baldry said: "UK fishermen will have been very angry with what Mrs Bonino had to say yesterday and the way in which she said it. "UK fishermen who are often working in hazardous conditions will have been angered with being described as `bad boys'. Particularly when Mrs Bonino singles out the Spanish as `good guys' on decommissioning (of fishing boats), when a significant number of Spanish-owned vessels are fishing as UK boats." Prime Minister John Major has adopted a get-tough stance with Europe over its refusal to end its ban on British beef exports, instructing ministers to block EU business. The policy has won

the backing of anti-European Conservatives here but failed to pay dividends with voters he desperately needs to win the next general election, due within 12 months. The latest opinion poll in The Times showed just 26 percent satisfied with his performance. The Conservatives garnered only 27 percent against 54 percent for the opposition Labour Party. Rocky relations have plunged to a new low with the EU Commission accusing Major of taking hostages with his campaign to paralyse EU business until a ban on British beef is lifted in a crisis of confidence over mad cow disease. But Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke, a leading pro-European in Major's cabinet, said he hoped the non-cooperation tactic could end before next month's EU summit in Italy. "If we get absolutely no response from the other European countries, it's likely to go on indefinitely. I don't think this is likely," Clarke said in an interview with The Times. "The process of locking up all this legislation is going to concentrate minds," he

said. EU Commission President Jacques Santer said Britain's stand was deplorable and counter-productive because other EU dossiers were being taken hostage by its stance. Bonino's decision to cut fishing fleets by 40 percent was greeted with howls of protest. Lawmakers warned it would fuel anti-European feeling, already stirred by jingoistic tabloids. Then the European Commission asked Britain speedily to provide information on test results that showed leading brands of baby milk contain chemicals that could impair fertility. But ForeignSecretary Malcolm Rifkind tried to dispel the storm clouds gathering in the growing confrontation between London and Brussels. He said Santer's comments were only to be expected given Britain's tactics. He denied that either the fishing cuts or the call for a report on baby milk was part of "Europe's revenge."