By JASON GROVES Former Downing Street spin doctor Lance Price claims that Mr Brown flies into furious rages when things go wrong - shouting at staff and kicking the furniture. It quotes serving and former aides describing the Prime Minister displaying 'extraordinary flashes of anger.' A new book claims that Gordon Brown flies into 'furious rages' when things go wrong and behaves 'unforgivably' towards junior staff One insider accuses Mr Brown of 'unforgivable' behaviour towards junior staff. He describes Mr Brown 'shouting at staff, jabbing an angry finger, throwing down papers, even kicking the furniture'. Other Downing Street sources accuse the Prime Minister of being 'pathetic' and prone to indulging in 'self-pity' when things go wrong. A third insider said: 'He [Gordon Brown] is psychologically and emotionally incapable of leadership of any kind.' The release of the book just weeks before the election and with Labour finally making some headway in the polls is a major blow to Mr Brown. Mr Price wrote the book Where Power Lies after interviewing dozens of former and serving staff who have worked under Mr Brown. Author Lance Price interviewed dozens of former No 10 staff who worked under Brown. Right, disgraced former Downing Street adviser Damian McBride Mr Price served as deputy to Tony Blair's communications director Alastair Campbell from 1998-2000, and Downing Street sources last night claimed he had little idea what now went on. But the book's damaging claims about Mr Brown chime with persistent rumours about his temper and the controlling way in which he runs Downing Street. Mr Price describes a 'reign of terror' in which Mr Brown was obsessed with personally controlling every detail of policy and presentation on an hour-by-hour basis. One insider is quoted as saying: 'It isn't a very nice place to work. However bad it sometimes looks from the outside, it's far, far worse from the inside. And the atmosphere is very much set by him.' Another describes a 'poisonous culture' inside Downing Street which 'comes from the top'. Referring to the infamous claim, thought to have been made by Alastair Campbell, that Mr Brown is 'psychologically flawed', one insider said: 'It doesn't come close.' The book, which is being serialised in The Independent, includes accusations that Mr Brown tacitly encourages staff to undermine ministers, including Chancellor Alistair Darling, by spinning against them to the media. Gordon Brown appears on the Piers Morgan show on ITV this Sunday. The Prime Minister wells up as he speaks about the death of his baby daughter Jennifer while his wife, Sarah, looks on Mr Brown also discussed how he occasionally lost his temper and confirmed that he had had rows with his predecessor Tony Blair And it quotes aides as saying that his obsession with short-term tactics has left a strategy vacuum at the heart of Government. One said: 'Nobody knows what the big picture is. That has to come from the boss.' However Mr Brown was defended by his shamed former spin doctor Damian McBride, who was forced to quit last year after plotting to smear senior Tories with untrue claims. Mr McBride told Mr Price he had never seen his former boss throw anything. He added: 'I've seen him shout and swear, but that is always quite a superficial thing, to release a bit of frustration, and then he settles down and can be normal again. The times when he is really angry are not when he shouts but when he's quiet.' A Downing Street source last night suggested Mr Price had been out of politics for so long he could provide no insights into Mr Brown's reign. The source said: 'A very long time ago he spent about 10 minutes there. To suggest he is someone who has an insight into Gordon Brown's premiership is frankly laughable. Lance Price has absolutely no idea what goes on inside Downing Street.' The latest revelations about the Prime Minister's conduct and temperament come just days after similar claims were made in another book about Gordon Brown which is due to be released next month. Well-placed senior sources are believed to have told political journalist Andrew Rawnsley that Brown hit a senior adviser who got in his way as he rushed to a reception at No 10 and pulled a secretary out of her chair as he dictated a memo to her. It is also claimed he hurled foul-mouthed abuse at aides because he was upset over an alleged snub by President Barack Obama. The claims which are denied by Mr Brown's allies will be included in Rawnsley's book The End Of The Party.Brown's 'reign of terror' at Downing Street revealed in sensational new book
Last updated at 12:23 PM on 11th February 2010
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1250101/Browns-reign-terror-Downing-Street-revealed-sensational-new-book.html#ixzz0fEyb5SwM
Thursday, 11 February 2010
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