Angry Gordon Brown 'hit out at aide and yanked secretary from her chair'

By Simon Walters, Mail on Sunday Political Editor
Last updated at 2:13 PM on 31st January 2010

Hot-head: Gordon Brown, pictured at a fundraising event for Haiti in London, is said to have pulled a woman secretary out of her chair because she couldn't keep up as he dictated

Sensational claims that Gordon Brown has physically attacked his staff in a series of outbursts in Downing Street - and once in America - have rocked the Government.

Well-placed sources say the Prime Minister has been accused of hitting a senior adviser, pulling a secretary out of her chair and hurling foul-mouthed abuse at aides while distraught over an alleged snub by President Barack Obama.

The claims, which are fiercely denied by Mr Brown's allies, are linked to a new book about Mr Brown by respected political journalist Andrew Rawnsley.

In researching the book, The End Of The Party, due to be published on March 1, Mr Rawnsley has investigated allegations that Mr Brown flew into a number of wild rages since he succeeded Tony Blair as Prime Minister. The publishers say his accounts are so detailed that readers will think he has 'bugs in the vases at No10'.

Another blockbuster book by Mr Rawnsley ten years ago revealed similar explosive incidents involving Mr Brown. The Mail on Sunday has been told that the new allegations include claims that Mr Brown:

Hit a senior aide who got in the way as he rushed to a reception at No10.
Physically pulled a secretary out of her chair as he dictated a memo to her.
Hurled foul-mouthed abuse at two aides in his hotel room in America in a state of semi-undress after reports that he had been snubbed by President Obama.

A No10 source confirmed that Mr Rawnsley has asked them about all three matters, adding: 'We do not believe the stories are true.'

A Downing Street spokesman told The Mail on Sunday: 'Journalists are free to investigate whatever fanciful stories they wish.'

One female official who has worked for Mr Brown said: 'Gordon does shout when he gets cross and is not easy to work for. But he gets just as angry with himself. I have never heard of him hitting anyone.'

'Gordon shouts when he gets cross... he's not an easy man to work for'

However, another official said: 'Brown's people are scared stiff of what may be in the book and how it might affect the Election. Some of the details of the stories are not right but some have the ring of truth.'

Reports of the allegations concerning Mr Brown, and what may or may not be in Mr Rawnsley's book, have been circulating among senior officials in Downing Street for several weeks.

The claim that Mr Brown hit one of his officials centres on an incident when he was hurrying to a reception for visiting dignitaries. He is alleged to have reacted angrily when he was intercepted by an aide who asked him to attend to another matter.

According to one account, he punched the male official to get him out of the way. Other sources say Mr Brown merely brushed the official aside in a non-aggressive manner because he was running late.

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The second incident is understood to involve one of the pool of Downing Street secretaries, dubbed 'Garden Girls' because their office overlooks the No10 garden.

The Prime Minister's temper is said to have snapped when the secretary failed to keep up as he dictated a memo to her. He reportedly pulled her from her seat and sat at the computer keyboard himself, bashing out the memo.

The third incident concerns Mr Brown's trip to the United States last September when it was claimed that he was repeatedly rebuffed by Mr Obama after asking to meet him.

It is said that there was an angry confrontation between Mr Brown and several aides at his hotel room when he was told of Press reports of the alleged snub.

The aides are said to have found him in his room, semi-clad and in a state of extreme agitation. They were then allegedly subjected to a stream of obscenities as he blamed them for the public-relations fiasco.

Explosive: Andrew Rawnsley's book has rocked Labour with its investigation of Gordon Brown's rages before and after succeeding Tony Blair

It is not known if the allegations referred to above have been included in the book.

Two years ago, Mr Brown is said to have been so angry when told that computer discs containing child-benefit records of 25million people had been lost that he kicked a table hard enough to knock it over. And it was claimed he threw a mobile phone at a Government chauffeur.

Mr Rawnsley's book also recounts details of how, as Chancellor, Mr Brown became involved in heated clashes with Mr Blair while trying to oust him as Prime Minister.

It gives new details of Mr Brown's turbulent relations with Peter Mandelson and the first full account of how they buried the hatchet last year when Lord Mandelson returned to the Cabinet.

'Brown's people are scared this may affect the Election'

Publishers Viking say The End Of The Party, which runs to 704 pages, is 'packed with astonishing revelations'.

They claim: 'Rawnsley's ability to unearth revelation at the highest level of Government may leave you suspecting that there are bugs in the vases at No10.

'He takes us through the triumphs and tribulations of New Labour and the astonishing feuds and reconciliations between Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson.' The book 'draws on hundreds of interviews and confidential conversations with those at the heart of power'.

In 2000, Mr Rawnsley's book Servants Of The People revealed how Mr Brown panicked after a radio interview in which he denied knowing about Formula 1 motor-racing chief Bernie Ecclestone's £1million donation to Labour.

The book alleged that Mr Brown later raged: 'I lied. I lied. If this gets out, I'll be destroyed.'

Mr Rawnsley was responsible for revealing that an unnamed senior adviser to Mr Blair said Mr Brown had 'psychological flaws'. The Mail on Sunday later reported that the adviser was Mr Blair's spin doctor Alastair Campbell.

One of his books described how Labour's welfare reforms were wrecked by the bitter feud between Harriet Harman and Frank Field.

In one exchange, Ms Harman said: 'I can't work with someone who thinks I'm a liar.' Mr Field replied: 'And I can't work with someone who's a ******* liar.'

Mr Rawnsley declined to comment yesterday.