Blair and Brown: Blistering attack

Labour's Cabinet heavyweights have sought to demonstrate a united front at the launch of the party's latest pre-election campaign blitz.

Chancellor Gordon Brown, election strategist Alan Milburn and deputy prime minister John Prescott took to the hustings following an intense round of bitter in-fighting within Labour ranks.

They said Labour had delivered the lowest inflation for 40 years - with higher investment in key public services and more people in work.

Flanked by Milburn and Brown, the deputy prime minister said Labour had a record to be proud of.

"We’ve got the most successful chancellor we’ve ever had, with the most successful economy, with indeed successful government led by Tony Blair. Now let’s just get on with it," he said.

Despite the show of unity, Labour MPs remain worried that the government's record could be eclipsed by personality clashes at the top table.

Warning

The prime minister and chancellor have been warned by Labour MPs that they must end their feud and get on with the job of winning the next election.

Both men appeared before a meeting of the parliamentary Labour Party on Monday night - where a string of MPs spoke out angrily against the latest round of bloodletting.

The chancellor, who remained silent in the face of repeated criticism, sat just one seat away from the prime minister he is accused of undermining.

After the blistering onslaught Tony Blair told Labour MPs that he had "got the message".

"I know from everyone here - in Cabinet and government - nothing is going to get in the way of a unified Labour Party, with a unified position and winning a third term people desperately need," he added.

Warning from MPs

Labour's Paul Flynn said the prime minister and chancellor were both given "a scorching". "It was a parliamentary Labour Party meeting like no other," he said.

A former minister said after the meeting: "They [Blair and Brown] looked chastened. The PLP was banging their heads together. Blair looked surprised by the intensity of the onslaught."

Dale Campbell Savours, a peer, called on the chancellor to deny a claim that he no longer trusted the prime minister - warning that it was likely to feature on Conservative election posters.

Labour veteran Clive Soley said the people briefing on behalf of both the prime minister and chancellor should be named, while former minister Angela Eagle said the splits suggested that Labour was taking victory for granted.

One MP said after the meeting: "The knives are out for the chancellor; one went between his shoulderpads tonight."