Gordon Brown denies 'forces of hell' as Bullying Helpline is suspended
GORDON Brown today denied he had instructed his aides to unleash “the forces of hell” against Alistair Darling as he insisted he had “huge” respect for the Chancellor.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he and Alistair Darling had been friends for 20 years, adding: “I would never instruct anybody to do anything other than support my Chancellor.”
Mr Brown’s remarks come after after Mr Darling accused aides to the Prime Minister of unleashing “the forces of hell” against him for predicting the recession would be the worst for 60 years.
The fresh 'bullying' accusations come as the National Bullying Helpline was temporarily suspended today, with founder Christine Pratt announcing she was “prepared to resign if necessary” in the wake of the resignation of several patrons.
He added in his interview on GMTV this morning: “There’s a huge loyalty in my staff and I am very sorry for them that they have been put through these allegations because we work together as a team.
“I don’t say it is not a difficult environment because you are challenged every day to make a decision.”
Mr Brown was asked whether, given his denials of bullying, he was prepared to take legal action against Andrew Rawnsley, the political journalist whose new book has sparked the furore over his alleged treatment of staff at Number 10.
“You could, you could, but you could spend all your time with legal actions,” Mr Brown replied.
Asked if it would leave a “stain on his character”, Mr Brown replied: “I don’t think it will, because I have answered the questions and I am saying, look, I do get impatient, sometimes you get angry, sometimes you have to do things that are very, very challenging.”
Later in a rowdy PMQs, Gordon Brown refused to answer Conservative leader David Cameron's taunts over Alistair Darling’s accusations.
Mr Cameron asked: "Why are the Prime Minister and Chancellor at war with each other at the end of a long recession?"
The Prime Minister deflected the question, instead accusing the Tories of failing to ask questions about policy.
But Cameron held firm, and hit back: "Did you know about briefing against the Chancellor?"
As Speaker John Bercow threatened to suspend the noisy sitting if MPs did not calm down, Mr Brown hit back, saying he had never instructed staff to brief against the Chancellor.
He said: “I would rather be defending my Chancellor than be in your position of having to defend your shadow chancellor."
In an shameful attempt at showing their is no rift between the two, the Prime Minister and Chancellor sat side-by-side for the session, frequently smiling and chatting to each other.
Mr Cameron quipped: "Any closer and they'll start kissing!"
“This is amazing public confirmation from the Prime Minister’s own Chancellor that he ordered his henchmen to brief against him.”
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