Britain to press for EU treaty ratification

Britain will press ahead with parliamentary ratification of the European Union treaty despite Ireland's rejection of it in a referendum, the government said on Friday.

"The Irish government have made clear they believe it's right for countries like Britain to continue the ratification process because there needs to be a British view as well as an Irish view," Foreign Secretary David Miliband said.

"So I believe it's right that we continue with our own process and take up the Irish offer of further discussions about the next steps forward," he told reporters.

Irish voters threw out the Lisbon Treaty in a vote on Thursday, potentially scuppering EU reform plans and humiliating the country's political elite.