Former home secretary Charles Clarke has issued a stark warning to Gordon Brown that the Labour Party would not allow itself to be led to "utter destruction" at the next general election.
In an article for the New Statesman magazine Mr Clarke dismissed reports of a "Blairite plot" by supporters of former prime minister Tony Blair to oust Mr Brown from No 10.
But he said there was a "deep and widely shared concern" within the party - extending far beyond the Blairites - that the Government was currently heading for disaster, coupled with a determination to prevent it happening.
"It is inaccurate and misleading to dismiss as some kind of Blairite rump those who fear that Labour's current course will lead to utter destruction at the next general election," he said.
"Similarly, there is no Blairite plot, despite rumours and persistent newspaper reports. There is, however, a deep and widely shared concern - which does not derive from ideology - that Labour is destined to disaster if we go on as we are, combined with a determination that we will not permit that to happen."
His comments are likely to re-ignite speculation at Westminster of a possible leadership challenge to Mr Brown when MPs return in October following the summer break.
Mr Clarke sharply criticised the way Mr Brown's supporters have come to use the term "Blairite" to characterise anyone who questioned the current direction of the Government under his leadership.
It was, he said, the stock phrase used by the "Brown political briefing team" to "traduce" Foreign Secretary David Miliband's article last month in The Guardian in which he set out his vision for reviving Labour's fortunes.
"Like 'Thatcherite', the word is not used kindly. 'Blairite' (even 'uber-Blairite') is a lazy and inaccurate shorthand. It is intended not to illuminate but to diminish, marginalise and insult," he said. "Moreover, this misleading language damages the vital need for Labour to move on to new, post-Blair ground."
Read More
The former home secretary, a longstanding critic of Mr Brown, was also scathing about his final Budget as chancellor when he funded a "disastrous and unfair" cut in the basic rate of income tax by abolishing the 10p rate.
