Don't mention the coup

Ministers went 90 minutes without uttering a single word about the plot which convulsed Westminster earlier this week.

Sitting around the Cabinet table with six Ministers who had been forced to deny having given tacit support to the plot, Mr Brown made no reference to the challenge to his authority from ex-Ministers Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt. Instead, he urged colleagues to apply a "laser focus" to the problems facing Britain, especially dealing with the disruption caused by the cold weather.

Asked whether the failed putsch was discussed, Mr Brown's spokesman replied: "Not at all, and nor would you expect it to be." The spokesman described the meeting as businesslike and "collegiate", with Ministers making contributions on issues ranging from the disruption caused by snow to the failed Christmas Day bomb attack on a US-bound airliner.