Brown takes lesson from Mandela and vows to carry on

After a new bout of Labour in-fighting over his leadership, he dismissed last week's attempted putsch as "silliness" and said he was not ready to walk away from the job.

In a move that will dismay his critics, he is preparing to campaign in the forthcoming General Election on the basis that he will serve a full second term as Prime Minister.

His defiant comments came as new criticism of his leadership emerged from a former Labour general secretary who accused him of reducing Number 10 to a "shambles".

Peter Watt backed calls for the Prime Minister to be replaced, saying he lacked "emotional intelligence" and was disliked by even some of his closest Cabinet allies.

The serialisation of Mr Watt's behind-the-scenes account of the first months of Mr Brown's premiership overshadowed attempts over the weekend by allies of the PM to rally the Labour troops.

But, in an interview with the News of the World, Mr Brown said: "I am Prime Minister and am determined to remain so. I am determined, I am resolute."

He drew a comparison with Invictus, the new film about former South African president Mr Mandela which the premier watched during the Christmas break. "The Nelson Mandela film, you will be interested to know, is about determination. And that is what I am all about – determination," he said.

The Prime Minister has endured another tumultuous week, with the failed attempt to end his leadership by former Cabinet Ministers Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt last Wednesday.

"I'm sorry it happened," Mr Brown said yesterday. "I think it was a form of silliness."

An opinion poll published yesterday gave Labour supporters some cause for comfort, suggesting the Tories still only enjoyed a 10-point lead.