Double act?

Gordon Brown built a power base across government which allowed him to "defy the prime minister with impunity", it is claimed in a new account of the Blair era.

A former Number 10 aide reveals that the chancellor refused to discuss details of his Budgets with Tony Blair or allow the prime minister to influence their content.

Former economics adviser Scott says that when asked by Blair what the content of his Budget was, the chancellor replied "I haven’t made my mind up".

The prime minister was then left to ask: "Give me a hint, Gordon."

The book, serialised in the Sunday Times, will further sour a relationship seriously under strain following last week's reshuffle.

The book alleges that the prime minister had to smuggle Treasury civil servants into Downing Street in order to get round the chancellor's "obstructive and deceitful" behaviour.

Scott also aleges that the chancellor repeatedly attempted to intervene on reshuffles.

"This took a wholly disproportionate amount of prime ministerial time," he writes.

"Most prime ministers would have simply told their chancellor: ‘I hear what you say but I’m the prime minister and I’ll appoint whom I choose thank you very much,’ and the matter would have been settled. Tony didn’t do this."

The book was submitted for vetting to the Cabinet Office prior to publication although it is thought that only minor amendments were made.

Scott contends that the prime minister's central error was to give Brown so much sway over domestic policy in the first Labour term.

When the chancellor was informed of the book earlier this year his spokesman accused Scott of the "deliberate peddling of lies and distortions".

The former Number 10 aide, who did not get the support of Downing Street when he announced he would write the book, also suggests that the chancellor may use this year's Labour conference to create a fresh leadership crisis.