British Prime Minister David Cameron's office on Sunday played down reports that he was prepared to drop one of his key demands for reforming Britain's relationship with the European Union after other countries made it clear they would not accept it.

Several British newspapers reported Cameron would signal at a meeting of EU leaders this week he is willing to compromise on his plan to make EU migrant workers wait four years before they are allowed to claim some state benefits.

"This is simply not true," Reuters has quoted a spokeswoman from Cameron’s office as saying. She did, however, point out to a speech by the British leader last month in which he said he was open to different ways of dealing with the issue but they must deliver on the objective of controlling EU migration.

A climb down would boost the chances of Britain being able to reach a deal with other EU leaders but would likely lead to a row within Cameron's Conservative Party, who made the benefits pledge a manifesto commitment ahead of May's national election, Reuters report added.

Cameron had promised to hold a referendum on whether or not to stay in the European Union before the end of 2017 if EU fails to meet his demands.

His demand to deny welfare benefits to EU citizens working in Britain had already been described by EU officials as “the most problematic”.

They said it could breach EU treaty obligations not to discriminate among citizens of the bloc.