Gordon Brown was so "obsessed" with trying to win the support of Rupert Murdoch while he was Prime Minister that he drew up his tax policies to appeal to the media magnate, according to a book published tomorrow.

David Cameron will be hoping that his new advisor, Craig Oliver, attracts fewer headlines than his predecessor.

A spotlight on the Prince of Darkness

Neatly timed for the publication of the 127th book about the first instalment (Jonathan Powell's), the Labour Civil War Mark II began at the weekend. Leading the neo-Blairite cavaliers was Peter Hyman, the Mr Tony adviser turned inner-city Mr Chips and Newsnight sage, who deflected any suspicions about his friend David Miliband's sense of entitlement by accusing Little Ed of "stealing his brother's crown". Ed's victory was a "catastrophe" for Labour, says Peter.

David Miliband appealed to Tony Blair not to issue a public declaration of support in his battle to become the next Labour leader, fearing it could damage rather than boost his prospects in the contest, The Independent can reveal.

Apart from the odd lard-chomping American telling him just where he could put his recent healthy eating campaign, Jamie Oliver's culinary empire has continued to expand with little trouble. Yet I hear Oliver could have his work cut out convincing some potentially troublesome natives in St Albans, where he's just bought The Bell pub – nostalgically renowned among local romantics, I'm told, for its trademark aroma of "stale lager and cheap perfume".

His controversial return to the front benches two years ago helped to shore up Gordon Brown's government and finally won him the admiration of his party. Now Peter Mandelson has thrown it all away – for money

In April 2008, Lord Mandelson began gathering material for his memoirs. After trawling through his private papers, he was almost breathless with excitement as he told friends: "It's a goldmine. You can't imagine what I have found."

With questions raised about the ghoulishness with which the media covered Raoul Moat's final days, a word of praise for two leaders of this frantic festival of broadcast Americana. Kay Burley, the Walter Cronkite du jour who so skillfully downplayed the horrors of 9/11 ("If you're just joining us, the entire eastern seaboard of the United States has been decimated ..."), added to her portfolio of triumphs on Sky News. She asked a criminologist: "Living rough for a narcissist must be tricky?" Well, it must. So hard to find a full length mirror. Speaking of narcissism, hats off to John Inverdale. With so sensitive a breaking story, what you really want at the helm is the sports guy, and John's transition from sipping Pimm's with Boris Becker at Wimbledon to spearheading Radio 5 Live's midday show was seamless. Watching the live feed from Rothbury, he touched on the paradox that, in the midst of all the horror, it looked so sleepily picturesque. "It's almost," he said, "like a scene from Midsomer Murders." He lost it for a bit after that, the sound of blood whooshing to his cheeks clearly audible, but recovered his sangfroid so well that he is said to be CNN's top target this autumn.

Senior Labour figures pleaded for calm yesterday as the imminent publication of Peter Mandelson's memoirs, The Third Man, provoked a fresh round of party infighting.

Lord Mandelson was today blamed for the "disaster" of Labour's general election campaign by one of Gordon Brown's closest allies.

Andy Burnham, a contender for the leadership of the Labour Party, has accused supporters of a rival camp of conducting "malicious briefing" in the hope of getting him to throw in the towel. His remarks are the first public sign of mutual antagonism in a leadership contest that has been marked by restrained language up to now.

Our writer finds members despondent at leaders' mistakes

New figures released by the election watchdog show the Conservatives accepted £123,464 from Lord Ashcroft, the deputy chairman of the party, who is spearheading the battle for the key marginal seats.