“The French said ‘No’ to it, the Dutch said ‘No’ to it, then it was brought back and the only people who have been given a chance to pass judgment on it, the Irish, have now said ‘No’ to it.

“The elite in Brussels have got to listen to people in Europe who do not want endless powers being passed from nation states to Brussels. They do not want these endless constitutions and treaties.

“It is the height of arrogance for Gordon Brown and our Government to press ahead with ratifying this treaty, flying in the face of public opinion.”

Mr Cameron demanded that Mr Brown make a statement in the Commons on Monday about the next step. 

Last night Tory peer Lord Tebbit said: “Perhaps now both the European Union and the British Government will understand that wherever the treaty or the constitution have been put to the people, the people have rejected it.

“The people of Europe are not prepared to go further and deeper into the process of creating a European state.” Nigel Farage, of anti-Brussels party Ukip, said the Irish people had “kicked the treaty into the long grass”. But he warned: “I suspect that the EU extremists will simply try to ignore it.”

Gerry Adams, of Sinn Fein – the only party in Ireland to back the No camp – said: “It was very much a David and Goliath contest – and in this case Goliath lost again.”

Former Labour minister Frank Field said: “The result in Ireland speaks volumes. The people in the one country given a chance to vote have clearly rejected the treaty. The Government must now withdraw its Bill ratifying the treaty, which should now be dead.”

But Foreign Secretary David Miliband insisted the ratification process must continue.

He said the Irish vote should be “respected and digested”, but added: “It is right that we continue with our own process.”

And European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso insisted: “I believe the treaty is alive and we should now try to find a solution.”

EU leaders, including Mr Brown, will hold talks at their summit in Brussels next week on the way forward.