Prescott attacks 'plotting' Miliband

Published on Saturday 13 June 2009 20:03

LABOUR was plunged into a new round of internal warfare last night after former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott accused David Miliband and other senior Labour figures of plotting to bring down Gordon Brown.

Prescott used a blog to launch an attack on the Foreign Secretary, accusing him of fomenting disunity and trying to destabilise the Premier.

He also accused Miliband of working together with other former cabinet heavyweights such as Alan Milburn, John Reid and Charles Clarke.

Miliband enraged party loyalists yesterday when he used a newspaper interview to admit he had considered resigning from government over Brown's leadership.

He admitted he had "made my decision" to stay on Thursday two weeks ago, the same day that his close friend and ministerial colleague James Purnell decided to quit.

After reading the interview, Prescott published a blog yesterday savaging the Foreign Secretary, accusing him of "feeding disunity" and questioning his motives.

He wrote: "David says he belongs to the generation of politicians who have only ever experienced government. He remembers one or two years of opposition."

"I must tell him I did 18 years of it and the one lesson I learnt is that a divided party is a defeated party. The....interview feeds that disunity and is a breeding ground for further challenges."

Prescott concluded: "Yet again we have to question his motive. Why make a statement like this just when the party is pulling together and fighting back? David, these actions do not help. They create uncertainty and doubt".

Prescott's dramatic attack only sought to pile further pressure on Brown last night as he struggled to maintain control over his government.

Brown saw off a rebellion of MPs and ministers in the wake of the party's disastrous European election showing, but many senior figures in the government are still known to want him to go.

In his interview, Miliband admitted he faced a decision on whether to stay or go on the day that Purnell quit. "I'd made my decision on Thursday," he said, referring to the day of the European elections. "James (Purnell] made his decision in good faith. I made my decision in good faith ... we all have to live with our decisions."

Prescott also declared in his blog that Miliband was plotting with several other Labour figures, relating an encounter he had last week at Westminster.

He writes: "Imagine my surprise when I was walking through Portcullis House on Thursday and stumbled upon a meeting held by Charles Clarke, John Reid, Alan Milburn and a few others, huddled together in intense discussion."

"I went over and offered to be the secretary for their little club. With nervous laughter, my offer was turned down. I later saw David Miliband and Milburn in a similar intense discussion. My suspicions were now heightened."

The question marks over Brown's leadership were added to by his Business Secretary Lord Mandelson yesterday, who said that the Prime Minister should expect another leadership challenge later this year. Mandelson admitted there would always be a group of Labour MPs who were not reconciled to his leadership.

Former Home Secretary Charles Clarke also warned that if Labour did poorly in the forthcoming Norwich North and Glasgow North East by-elections, he could face another challenge to his leadership, this time a fatal one.

Scotland on Sunday now understands that the initial favourite within the Labour camp to stand in the by-election, Glasgow councillor Paul Rooney, has decided not to put his name forward. Glasgow City Council leader Steven Purcell has told friends he is also ruling himself out of the contest.

Another local councillor, Gordon Matheson, is now among the favourites to take up the seat, which is being left vacant by the retirement of Speaker Michael Martin.