Harman denies leadership ambitions

Harriet Harman moved to quash suggestions she was preparing to succeed Gordon Brown today - insisting there were "no circumstances" in which she would run for the leadership.

The deputy Labour leader said she would not seek the top job even if the Prime Minister were to go.

The intervention came after a week of bitter infighting that has left Mr Brown's position looking increasingly precarious.

Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme if she would try to become leader if a vacancy arose, Ms Harman replied: "No."

The Cabinet minister went on: "I am saying there are no circumstances...

"I do not want to be Prime Minister, I do not want to be leader of the party.

"I want Gordon Brown to remain PM after the next election as well as before the election."

Ms Harman said she did not believe Mr Brown would be forced from the leadership.

"There is not going to be a leadership election. There should not be, and there will not be," she added.

She insisted there was no "policy divide" within the Labour Party, and there was "strong unity" over what was being done to tackle the economic crisis as members prepare for next month's local and European elections.

"They are not defeatist, they are not demoralised, they are very determined," she added.

The Commons leader insisted her Cabinet colleague Hazel Blears had already backtracked over a newspaper article yesterday that was seen as having inflamed the situation.

Ms Blears, the Communities Secretary, slammed the Government's "lamentable failure" to connect with voters. She even took a sideswipe at Mr Brown's notorious YouTube appearance, saying: "YouTube if you want to. But it is no substitute for knocking on doors."

Ms Harman said: "She (Ms Blears) has not ringingly endorsed herself what she said."

Ms Harman was the latest in a line of Labour big-hitters to take to the airwaves in a bid to shore up the premier.

Mr Brown has been damaged by a bruising spell which saw him suffer his first Commons defeat since becoming Prime Minister in an emotive vote on Gurkha rights, and a double climbdown on reform of MPs' expenses.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw and Health Secretary Alan Johnson rallied to his support, insisting that he was the right man to lead the party through testing times.

However Mr Johnson - touted by some rebels as a replacement for Mr Brown - was careful not to rule himself out as a possible leader at some future time, saying: "I'm not saying there's no circumstances."

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn told GMTV this morning that there would "absolutely not" be a leadership challenge, and Mr Brown would take the party in to the next general election.

"Gordon Brown is a serious politician for serious times. At the moment, things have got so frenzied, every dot and comma in articles that people write or things that people say is examined.

"Frankly, I think we should put the magnifying glass away. This is a time for looking to the future.

"In the end, the next election is going to be about the choice that people face, what kind of country we are going to be."

Labour MP Lindsay Hoyle hit out at Ms Blears for her remarks.

Mr Hoyle, the MP for Chorley, said the Communities Minister should quit her cabinet post and "get on the back benches" if she wanted to speak out against the Government.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme he said: "It's time she accepted collective responsibility. If not if she wants to speak out, get on the back benches."

Mr Hoyle added: "It's up to the cabinet to get the message out, Hazel is part of getting the message out, not condemning Gordon or the Government.

"What she should be doing is working on the message and the best way to get a message out is to deliver on the issues that matter to people."

On BBC Breakfast, viewers were shown a copy of the Daily Telegraph by presenter Jon Kay.

The Labour deputy leader had added the word NOT to the front page headline 'Harman: I'd fight for leadership' to make the headline read 'Harman: I'd NOT fight for leadership'.

Mr Kay said Ms Harman had just "grabbed" his pen and added the word.

Pressing Ms Harman, he said: "So, Harriet Harman, definitely not, ever?"

Ms Harman replied: "Definitely not. But there is a fight on and that is for the elections which are going to be on June 4 where every single person in this country is going to have a vote.

"That is what I am going to be fighting on and I am loyally supporting the leadership of Gordon Brown.

"When I ran as deputy in a big contest for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party I said first and foremost I'll be a strongly supportive, loyal deputy to Gordon Brown and help him win a further term of Labour Government.

"That is exactly what I am doing. That is why I corrected the headline for you."

Mr Kay asked: "Let's be completely clear about this, you are saying you would not ever want to be the leader of your party?"

Ms Harman replied: "That is what I am saying. My ambition has been - you know, and I am ambitious for the country and for the party and for myself - my ambition has been to run and win the deputy leadership in order to be a loyal and supportive deputy to Gordon and that is what I am doing.

"I think that this is a distraction and Labour Party members want us all to be getting on with the job which the country needs us to be doing which is fighting these elections and also fighting to protect the economy and jobs and that is absolutely what I am doing."

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Ms Harman said the Cabinet was absorbed by the concerns of people in the country, which was not "who said what to whom in the Cabinet".

She said: "It will absolutely be business as usual in the Cabinet with the additional issue which is that we have got, in four weeks' time, very important elections and if people don't turn out to vote there is a real prospect that the British National Party with the racism and division that they represent could benefit if there is a low turn-out.

"So we have got an additional focus as we go forward after this Bank Holiday weekend."