Brown running scared over Treaty

9.15.00am GMT Thu 6th Dec 2007

Commenting on Downing Street 's admission that Gordon Brown may miss the signing of the Lisbon Treaty next week, Andrew Duff MEP, Leader of the Liberal Democrat European Parliamentary party and a representative of the European Parliament at the Inter Governmental Conference, said:

"Gordon Brown is being impolite and cowardly. He owes a very great deal to his fellow heads of government for their willingness at the IGC to give the UK more or less what it wanted -- that is, a second class membership of the club. Now he is rubbing their noses in it. His non-show at Lisbon is especially offensive to the Portuguese presidency who ran the last stages of the constitutional negotiations.

"If he is too frightened of the Lisbon Treaty to sign it, how on earth is he going to convince MPs at Westminster that it's worth supporting?

"With Mr Brown's refusal to participate in the signing of this historic treaty, Britain's relations with its European partners reaches a new low point."

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Mr Duff has accepted an invitation from Prime Minister Socrates to take part in the Lisbon ceremony on Thursday.