Lib Dems deal referendum blow

Months of parliamentary wrangling over the treaty are due to start, as the Prime Minister makes an oral statement to the House of Commons about last week's Lisbon summit, at which he joined the 26 other EU heads of government in agreeing a final text of the document to be signed in December.

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague has promised a "real parliamentary battle" for a referendum, but his deputy Mark Francois acknowledged that the Tories would need backing from Lib Dems and Labour rebels to secure victory.

And both Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne, who are vying to succeed Sir Menzies Campbell as Lib Dem leader, made clear that they will not vote with the Tories on the issue.

Both Lib Dem leadership candidates accused the Tories of seeking to use demands for a referendum as a smokescreen for their true goal of taking Britain out of the EU.

Mr Clegg told Andrew Marr: "There is a profound dishonesty in the argument you heard from William Hague this morning, this forensic emphasis on line-by-line analysis of this treaty. What they are really after is to try to use this as a tool, a weapon, to get us out of the EU altogether. They should be confronted with the consequences of their position."

The treaty agreed in Lisbon on Friday will create a new permanent president of the European Council with a 30-month term of office, as well as an EU foreign minister and diplomatic corps, but steers clear of the national trappings of an anthem and flag proposed in the constitution which was rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

Britain has secured a series of "red lines" which the Government says will protect UK independence on issues like foreign affairs, justice, tax and labour law, but which the Tories dismiss as "red herrings" which will swiftly be challenged by European courts.

Mr Hague said Mr Brown's claim that the treaty drew a line under EU institutional reform for the foreseeable future was "the latest piece of deceit" over Europe from the Government.

"In fact, the creation of a permanent European president of the European Council and the creation of a European foreign minister is designed to accrue more power to the centre in the EU, so it is very much part of a process and they have signed us up to that," said Mr Hague.