Brown denies tears over daughter were ploy to gain votes at election

THE Prime Minister yesterday claimed he spoke about the death of his newborn daughter on television so viewers could see him as an "open book" and not to grab votes in the general election.

On the TV show Piers Morgan's Life Stories, Gordon Brown spoke about his love for his wife Sarah, the leadership deal struck with Tony Blair and the death of his daughter Jennifer.

Mr Brown's eyes filled with tears as he said he knew that his ten-day-old daughter was not going to survive. She died in 2002 after suffering a brain haemorrhage.

When he was asked yesterday whether the emotion seen on screen was an attempt to pull in the voters, Mr Brown said: "He asked me the question and I gave him the answer, I am an open book.

"I think that people have a right to know who you are, what you stand for, where you come from and what you are trying to achieve."

The show, which was filmed in front of a live audience last week and broadcast on Sunday, was watched by 4.2 million viewers, a spokeswoman for ITV said.