Brown accused of betraying Britain

London, July 18 : British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been accused of betraying the country with a "grubby" surrender to Brussels by ratifying the Lisbon Treaty.

The Government secretly ratified the Lisbon Treaty earlier this week and committed the country to a new deluge of European meddling.

In a sign of the Prime Minister's personal embarrassment over the betrayal, the historic step was only made public on Thursday; 24 hours after the covert ceremony had taken place.

The Queen, who had no choice, signed the instrument of ratification. Because Brown had signed the treaty, she was constitutionally forced to follow suit.

The document was then flown in a diplomatic bag to Rome and delivered to the Italian Foreign Ministry at noon on Wednesday, the Daily Express reported.

Brown was last night facing widespread revolt and even the threat of further legal action after forcing the treaty into law without the promised referendum.

Tory Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "Gordon Brown has no democratic or moral authority to sign Britain up to what is a renamed EU Constitution."

This move is a total breach of trust with the British people and a flagrant breach of his solemn election promise, he added.

"It also means that the Government is joining in the ugly bullying of the Irish people, who have clearly rejected this treaty in a referendum. Trying to push ahead with the treaty shows an utter lack of respect for the Irish voters' democratic decision," Hague said.

"As long as the Irish decision is not reversed, the EU treaty will not be in force at the next general election. A new Conservative Government would then take back the instrument of ratification and put the treaty to a referendum, recommending a 'No' vote," he added.

Hague pointed out that Brown signed the treaty last year in a bizarre solo ceremony separate from the EU's 26 other national leaders.

A Foreign Office spokesman last night claimed that the administrative process of drawing up the documents and getting the required signatures dictated the timing of the British ratification.

ANI