Opposition leaders in Egypt have rejected President Mohammed Morsi’s attempted compromise, which saw him scrap some of his powers but stick to a planned constitutional referendum.

Halting the referendum has been a key demand of the opposition, and the leaders called for protests on Tuesday.

The president’s critics accuse him of acting like a dictator, but he says he is safeguarding the revolution.

Several people have died since Mr Morsi gave himself new powers last month.

In a statement after talks on Sunday, the opposition National Salvation Front said it did not recognise the draft constitution “because it does not represent the Egyptian people”.

“We reject the referendum which will certainly lead to more division and sedition,” spokesman Sameh Ashour said at a news conference.

The opposition says the body charged with drawing up the constitution was dominated by Mr Morsi’s Islamist allies.

The BBC’s Jon Leyne says it is not clear whether the announcement means the opposition will boycott the 15 December referendum, but that seems to be the implication.

The situation is as tense as ever, says our correspondent. The army has built a wall of concrete blocks to seal off and protect the presidential palace, which has been the focus of opposition demonstrations.

The president himself has ordered the military to maintain security and protect state institutions in the run up to the referendum – a move that will raise fears that the country is moving back towards military rule, not long after the handover to civilian government, he says.

Earlier, Mohamed Soudan, foreign relations secretary of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, said Mr Morsi was constitutionally bound to go ahead with the vote.

Mr Morsi’s decree of 22 November stripped the judiciary of any right to challenge his decisions and triggered violent protests on the streets of Cairo.

Although the decree has been annulled, some decisions taken under it still stand.

The general prosecutor, who was dismissed, will not be reinstated, and the retrial of the former regime officials will go ahead.

Egypt’s powerful military has warned it will not allow Egypt to spiral out of control and has called for talks to resolve the conflict.

The president’s supporters say the judiciary is made up of reactionary figures from the old regime of strongman Hosni Mubarak.

But his opponents have mounted almost continuous protests since the decree was passed.

Several people have been killed in the recent spate of protests on both sides, and the presidential palace has come under attack.

The Cairo headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement to which Mr Morsi belongs, were set on fire.

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