Pressure grows on Miliband to stand against Brown

PRESSURE was growing today on a reluctant David Miliband to stand for the Labour leadership as the "stop Gordon Brown" candidate.

Two of the Environment Secretary's former Cabinet colleagues have called for an "open debate" on Labour's future.

They sent an e-mail to all MPs inviting them to a meeting at Westminster today. Ex-Home Secretary Charles Clarke and former health boss and party chairman Alan Milburn have set up an internet site to promote that discussion.

They say that after ten years in office Labour had to show that it had the "vision and policies" for Britain's future.

The move is seen at Westminster as a thinly veiled attempt to flush out a rival Cabinet candidate to the Chancellor.

One insider said the message was clear - "waiting for Gordon isn't good enough".

And the man Labour MPs believe Mr Clarke and Mr Milburn have in mind as the Chancellor's challenger is South Shields MP Mr Miliband. Aged just 41, he is seen by supporters of Tony Blair as the future of new Labour.

But Mr Miliband himself has publicly ruled out standing for the leadership or the deputy's job.

He has given the same message in conversations to Cabinet colleagues in recent days.

Both Mr Milburn and Mr Clarke have urged Mr Brown to say what he would do in the top job.