Brown held back money from Blair146;s projects: Prescott

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown held back money from predecessor Tony Blair8217;s pet projects as Chancellor...

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown held back money from predecessor Tony Blair8217;s pet projects as Chancellor of the Exchequer to have more funds for himself as the incumbent of the top job, John Prescott, former UK deputy prime minister has said.

In a major embarrassment to Brown, Prescott said that he held back government money from Blair8217;s pet projects so that he would have more to spend when he took over as prime minister.

8220;On one occasion, Gordon wouldn8217;t let Tony see what was in his preparatory budget proposals. He even banned the Treasury from telling him. That was totally against tradition. The prime minister is always told in advance,8221; he said.

The memoirs serialised in The Sunday Times said Prescott had also urged the Blair to sack him at the height of their frequent rows but the ex-prime minister was 8220;scared8221; of his chancellor.

The former deputy prime minister said that Blair reneged not once but several times on promises to make way for Brown at 10, Downing Street 8212; the official residence of British Prime Minister 8212; which obviously made the latter uncomfortable.

Prescott said he brokered 8220;hundreds8221; of reconciliation meetings and telephone calls between them. He said Brown was 8220;frustrating, annoying, bewildering and prickly8221;. He sulked so often during meetings that they had to be abandoned. On other occasions, he could 8220;go off like a bloody volcano8221;.

The former deputy prime minister said that he also urged Brown to resign and fight Blair from the back benches, but the then chancellor 8220;shrank8221; from such a bold gamble.

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Blair and Brown were the architects of the revival of Britain8217;s Labour Party, broadening its appeal to middle-class voters who had previously backed the Conservatives and winning back power for the first time since 1979. They won three straight national elections from 1997.

But Prescott told the newspaper that during bitter rows he advised Brown to resign from Blair8217;s Cabinet and told Blair to sack his troublesome colleague. 8220;Neither could take the final step,8221; Prescott said.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Sunday he didn8217;t agree with Prescott8217;s depiction of Brown as a prickly technocrat. Brown 8220;is someone who is absolutely passionate about the values that he believes in,8221; Miliband told BBC. 8220;He is clear about the goals we are pursuing and, yes, as he said, he does get into the detail, but that is important.8221;