Tycoon hopes to win Treaty appeal

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Earlier, the High Court had rejected his attempt to force the Government to keep a "promise" that a referendum would be held on the Treaty.

The spreadbetting tycoon said he had "high hopes" that he could win on appeal, despite an unequivocal declaration by two senior judges that no promise existed.

So far he has run up an estimated £750,000 bill in legal fees in his crusade for a vote.

Mr Wheeler, 73, reacted with concern to Downing Street's statement after the ruling that because at the moment he had not lodged an appeal "and therefore we will proceed with ratification".

A spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown told reporters that the Government hoped to be able to proceed with the final stages of ratification "within the next few days or weeks".

However, Mr Wheeler's spokesman said he was writing to Government lawyers urging them not to ratify the treaty until he had had a chance to lodge his appeal.

At London's High Court Mr Wheeler claimed that a legitimate expectation of a referendum could be implied because one had been promised by former premier Tony Blair in relation to the failed EU Constitution.

His lawyers argued there were no "material differences" between the Constitutional Treaty - rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands in 2005 - and the Lisbon Treaty which replaced it.

But Lord Justice Richards and Mr Justice Mackay ruled that it had not been unreasonable for the Government to conclude there were material differences. No promise of a referendum could be implied, and Mr Wheeler's case "falls at the first hurdle".