Campbell reveals depth of Blair's feud with Brown

Alastair Campbell has lifted the lid on the feuding between Gordon Brown and Tony Blair which has been a running sore for Labour since 1994.

The former Downing Street director of communications, who said he had omitted their disagreements from his diairies to avoid handing a "gold-mine" of ammunition to the Tories, included several examples of the destabilising power struggle between New Labour's main architects.

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The Blair Years, published yesterday, claims Mr Blair warned his Chancellor that he would oppose him taking over from him if he did not stop plotting. At one dinner, "he told him he still believed he was easily the best person to follow him but he was not going to support him in circumstances where he felt he was being forced out."

John Prescott, who acted as peacemaker between Mr Blair and Mr Brown, warned he would block any attempt to force the then Prime Minister to stand down early. Mr Campbell writes: "JP had basically told him that if TB didn't want him to get the job, and JP was agin it, it would not happen."

Mr Campbell, who describes Mr Brown as "brilliant but difficult", claims he tried to bounce the Government into ruling out joining the euro in its first term. "GB was now on the rampage, saying this had all gone too far, as if suddenly the headline he had been asking for was not what he had asked for."

In April 2001, Mr Campbell recorded: "The GB situation had to be sorted because a big part of the nightmare was constantly having to pick up the pieces from that."

A year later, he wrote: "TB's big concern re the GB situation was the feeling that ministers were unsure what their instincts were meant to be, because though we were the present, they realised GB was the future. TB needed to be clear they were answerable to him."

Mr Blair told Mr Campbell Mr Brown was "not happy" with his planned cabinet reshuffle and had warned him "with a hint of real menace" there would be an avalanche of criticism. Mr Blair asked Mr Campbell to delay plans to quit his job to avoid giving Mr Brown a boost.

The diaries include claims that Mr Brown kept his cabinet colleagues in the dark about his decisions at the Treasury while interfering in their departments. Alan Milburn, then Health Secretary, was "incandescent" when the Chancellor announced a review of the NHS in his 2003 Budget. "Of course, GB being GB it was too late to unpick fully," Mr Campbell writes. He claims Mr Brown was slow to "engage" in the 2000 fuel crisis.

Although Mr Brown has said he will not read the book, his allies will be furious that Mr Campbell has included so much about the new Prime Minister.

Last night the Tories issued a statement including 15 extracts they said showed Mr Brown in an unfavourable light. They alleged the diaries showed Mr Brown lied about his knowledge of the £1m donation to Labour by the Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone, which was repaid after the sport won a reprieve from a ban on tobacco sponsorship.