A privilege to be leader, says Milburn

Alan Milburn fuelled speculation that he will stand against Gordon Brown in a future leadership battle by saying it would be "an enormous privilege" to be leader. The former Health Secretary also revealed that Tony Blair wooed him back into the Cabinet by saying he was the "only" person capable of masterminding the coming general election campaign.

Speaking at a fringe meeting in Brighton, he said: "I had been saying to Tony that various things needed doing. He said, 'There is only one person who can do that.' So I said, 'Who's that?' And he said, 'Oh, you'."