Labour’s top brass present united front
THE high command of the Labour party tried to present a united front yesterday, after Alistair Darling admitted that Number 10 had briefed against him.
Gordon Brown “unleashed the forces of hell” on his chancellor back in 2008 because he predicted the world was facing the worst recession for sixty years, Darling said in a TV interview on Tuesday night.
Darling admitted that people close to Brown had briefed against him following his comments on the economy. The Prime Minister’s disgraced former special adviser Damian McBride led the smear campaign against the chancellor.
But yesterday Brown and Darling made a show of their friendship, whispering and smiling at each other in a session of Prime Minister’s Questions.
“Any closer and they will start kissing,” David Cameron quipped in response to the show of affection.
Brown insisted he did not instruct anyone to smear Darling, but he refused to say whether he knew such briefing was going on.
The pair met yesterday morning to clear the air and an aide to the chancellor said they were “getting on with things”.
But the Prime Minister is said to be furious at Darling for fuelling speculation he is a bully just as the row was beginning to peter out.