Brown claimed Blair ruined his life says book

GORDON Brown faced claims today that he repeatedly shouted at Tony Blair that he had "ruined his life".

The angry outburst came on the eve of Mr Blair's announcement in 2006 that he would stand down as Prime Minister within the year, according to the political journalist Andrew Rawnsley.

A new excerpt from his book, detailed in a national newspaper today, asserts that Mr Brown demanded that Mr Blair ensure he faced no rival for the Labour leadership succession.

He went on to challenge the then-Prime Minister as to who could be more qualified for the role, it is claimed.

The book, The End of the Party, quotes Mr Blair later telling friends: "He kept shouting at me that I'd ruined his life."

The Prime Minister recently admitted that he and Mr Blair had done a deal over the Labour leadership when it came up in 1994. Mr Brown said he felt he should have taken over at that point.