PM dismisses leadership move as a storm in a teacup

Gordon Brown today brushed off the latest attempt to oust him as Prime Minister as "a storm in a teacup".

In his first remarks since the attempted putsch by former Cabinet ministers yesterday, he insisted he had spent little time considering the challenge to his leadership.

He told BBC Radio Solent: "It's taken up very little of my time.

"I think it's one of these sidelines in this time when people are far more worried about, as they should be, about what we are doing to deal with the weather and to make sure that people are safe and secure.

"So it's not going to take up much of my time and hasn't, certainly, taken up much of my time."

Mr Brown said that, as the drama at Westminster unfolded yesterday afternoon, he was in meetings about Afghanistan, the fight against terrorism, and efforts to cope with the snow.

He dismissed suggestions that ministers' eventual statements of support had been lukewarm, insisting: "You can read into quotes what you want."

Mr Brown claimed that most Cabinet ministers demonstrated their support for him "within an hour or two".

He said: "I would say to you this is a bit of a storm in a teacup. We are actually dealing with real storms at the moment."

Mr Brown said he would continue to "lead from the front" and "say what I think, even if sometimes it's unpopular".