Tony Blair's closest allies mounted a fightback yesterday against the continuing speculation about his future as prime minister.

Lord Falconer, the lord chancellor, and Charles Clarke, the education secretary, revealed that they had had private conversations with the prime minister in the past few days in which he had told them of his determination to fight on.

Writing in the Evening Standard, Downing Street ally Peter Mandelson said Blair would not "lose his nerve or walk away because the pressure is too great".

John Prescott, meanwhile, told a meeting of Labour MPs he had "stuck by this man" for ten years and was not about to desert him.

The chancellor also went out of his way at the opening of a volunteering initiative in London to underline his close working relationship with Blair.

"If there is one instance of how much we attach to building a better society in the future it is this: to see how we can encourage community action, public service and voluntary action by young people, and it is the whole of government wanting to see this change. I was talking to Tony about this only two or three days ago," Gordon Brown said.

"I have worked with him for 21 years and it is he and all the rest of us who are determined that if this commission can come up with recommendations, including recommendations that may involve spending money, it is important that we do this, because while we can get on with the job of managing the economy and tackling all the international problems and dealing with the public services now, what matters for the future of our country is that we can build a stronger community."