The chancellor has made a bid for unity by insisting he trusts the prime minister.

The comments came despite Gordon Brown's failure to deny saying that had found himself in a position where he could not "ever believe" Tony Blair.

In a show of unity Brown joined Cabinet rival Alan Milburn and deputy prime minister John Prescott at a campaign poster launch yesterday.

The Independent reports that allies of Tony Blair are claiming he never promised Gordon Brown that he would stand down before the next general election.

But at Westminster there is a growing sense amongst Labour MPs that the chancellor's recent onslaught against the prime minister has damaged his leadership prospects.

Meanwhile the Conservatives are preparing to capitalise on the feud between senior members of the government.

Tory HQ is set to mount a poster blitz displaying the quote attributed to the chancellor.