Black Friday: Gordon Brown faces huge political repercussions after Ireland said no to the EU treaty

Gordon Brown will risk enraging the public by backing a compromise which keeps the Lisbon Treaty alive.

He is ready to endorse what officials described as 'a collective view' on rescuing the Treaty from oblivion, which critics say will amount to a 'stitch-up'.

Despite a torrent of calls for the discredited document to be dumped, the Prime Minister is ready to do a deal with Brussels.

He has ruled out leading an attempt to kill off the Treaty when EU leaders met in Brussels next week for what is now a crisis summit.

Mr Brown is desperate not to be drawn into another row about the future of Europe at a time when he is battling to save his Premiership.

Yesterday's result - on Friday the 13th - will be seen as fresh evidence that the Prime Minister has run out of luck.

Just when Mr Brown was beginning to enjoy watching the Tories squirm over David Davis and his madcap byelection scheme, the Irish have plunged him back into the mire.

At a stroke, a poisonous issue Mr Brown thought was neutralised has returned to haunt him when he is at his most vulnerable.

The reasons behind the Irish No vote - particularly the country's concern over the influx of Eastern European workers which has accompanied its membership of the EU - will also give Number Ten pause for thought.

Immigration is the issue that hardly dared speak its name in public during the referendum campaign.

For a huge swathe of the Irish population, relentless immigration is seen as the price they have paid for being part of the EU - and for many that price is too high.

By comparison, the supposed concerns of the Irish voters often cited by the media during the campaign - military neutrality, abortion and corporation tax - were rarely mentioned by ordinary people.

It's a no: The Evening Herald in Dublin announces the result of the referendum

At the time of the Nice Treaty in 2001, there was already grumbling about the relatively small number of immigrants in the country.

Since then the EU has opened its door to 12 more countries, many from impoverished Eastern Europe. Of those who headed West, the vast majority went to Britain or Ireland.

It is an issue that could resonate with UK voters, who have been denied a vote on the Treaty - and by implication, the closeness of this country's links with Europe.

But Mr Brown desperately wants a period of political calm to focus on what he believes is the most pressing issue faced by Britain and the EU - the current economic crisis.

Instead he must contend with a fresh bout of agonising about the future of Europe just months after saying voters had had enough of endless EU 'navel-gazing'.

He also faces awkward questions about the future of a discredited treaty.

The European rules seem clear - if just one of the EU's 27 members fails to ratify a treaty, it cannot come into force. By rights, Ireland's No should be the end of the matter.

As Chancellor Mr Brown was happy to parade his scepticism about a European project he believes is wedded to outdated economic and social principles.

But as Prime Minister he has stuck with Tony Blair's refusal to give the voters a say on the Lisbon Treaty - the near-identical successor to the original EU constitution thrown out by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

To the dismay of his backers, Mr Brown refused to honour Labour's manifesto pledge to put the document to a referendum. Instead he pressed ahead with its ratification in Parliament.

And in what was seen as an ill-judged attempt to duck the issue he missed the signing ceremony in Lisbon - only to be forced to turn up late and sign it by himself.

This dealt a heavy blow to Mr Brown's credibility around the EU. He has spent months trying to win back lost ground with leaders who said he was indecisive and petulant.

Downing Street knew this week would be a minefield for Mr Brown.

They got through the vote on 42 days at considerable cost to his authority, and are keeping a nervous eye on petrol station forecourts for signs of a panic over the fuel strike.

Ireland was the other danger. Four million people on the fringes of Europe may have struck a blow against European integration, but they have also landed one on Mr Brown.