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 Cameron hailed a deal clinched with other European Union leaders
at a summit in Brussels as granting Britain special status and said
he would campaign hard now to convince voters to stay in the bloc
that Britain joined in 1973.
"I will be campaigning with all my heart and soul to persuade the
British people to remain in the reformed European Union," Cameron
said after securing the deal that was approved by all the other 27
EU leaders.
"We are stronger, safer and better off inside this reformed European
Union," Cameron said. He updated senior ministers at a meeting of
the cabinet which began at 1000 GMT (0500 ET) and said he would
announce the referendum date soon afterwards.
While one of Cameron's closest political allies, Justice Secretary
Michael Gove, will campaign to leave the EU, finance minister George
Osborne and interior minister Theresa May backed Cameron.
London Mayor Boris Johnson, who has charmed some voters with a
buffoonish persona that masks fierce ambition to succeed Cameron,
has yet to make his position clear.
 The legally-binding agreement reached in Brussels granted Britain an
explicit exemption from the founding goal of "ever closer union",
offered concessions on the welfare rights of migrant workers and
safeguards for the City of London.
Though British voters are split over membership, betting odds have
moved further in favor of Britain remaining in the EU after
Cameron's deal, according to bookmaker Ladbrokes.
A British exit from the EU would rock the Union - already shaken by
differences over migration and the future of the euro zone - by
ripping away its second-largest economy, one of its top two military
powers and by far its richest financial center.
Pro-Europeans warn an exit could also trigger the break-up of the
United Kingdom by prompting another Scottish independence vote. The
$2.9 trillion British economy would face years of uncertain
negotiations over the terms of a divorce.
Opponents of EU membership say Britain would prosper outside what
they say is a doomed Germany-dominated bloc that punches way below
its weight on the world stage.
"This is a truly pathetic deal," Nigel Farage, the head of the UK
Independence Party said. "Let's leave the EU, control our borders,
run our own country and stop handing 55 million pounds every day to
Brussels."
CONSERVATIVES DIVIDED
The issue of Europe has divided the Conservatives for three decades
and played a major part in the downfall of Cameron's two
Conservative predecessors, Margaret Thatcher and John Major.
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Opinion polls show that a significant number of Britons have yet to
make up their mind, though perceptions that the EU has failed to
deal with the migrant crisis may be turning some towards a 'Brexit'.
Bookmaker Ladbrokes said however that betting odds indicated there
was now a 69 percent chance of Britain remaining in the EU with a 31
percent chance of Britain leaving.
Cameron is due to make a statement to parliament on Monday,
triggering the start of the campaign for the referendum.
The cabinet meeting, the first to be held on a Saturday since the
1982 Falklands War, will formalize government support for staying in
the EU and Cameron has said ministers will then be free to campaign
on whichever side they want.
Cameron acknowledged that Gove would campaign to leave, saying he
was disappointed but not surprised. He suggested other Conservatives
may also join the "out" camp.
Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, an influential figure in Britain
through his ownership of a clutch of U.K. newspapers, congratulated
Gove.
"Congratulations Michael Gove," Murdoch said on Twitter. "Friends
always knew his principles would overcome his personal friendships."
The message from the 84-year-old executive chairman of News Corp and
21st Century Fox Inc raises the prospect of some of the media
tycoon's British newspapers possibly campaigning for an EU exit.
(Additional reporting by Kate Holton; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge;
editing by Richard Balmforth)
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