Blair nearly quit

Tony Blair came close to quitting this year because of family pressures, one of his close friends said today.

Labour peer and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg claimed Mr Blair was under such "tremendous stress" he considered leaving Downing Street.

Lord Bragg, whose wife Cate Haste has co-written a new book with Cherie Blair, suggested for the first time that the Prime Minister had almost resigned because of personal rather than political reasons.

Until now, friends and colleagues have blamed Mr Blair's "wobble" mainly on the Iraq war and images of prisoner abuse at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib jail.

But in an interview today on ITV News's Alastair Stewart programme, Lord Bragg said: "Perhaps he had doubts about some policies, perhaps not. The real stress was personal and family, which matters most to him.

"And my guess is that the consideration of his family became very pressing, and that was what made him think things over very carefully."-The peer, who was among the family friends invited to Mrs Blair's 50th birthday celebrations at Chequers last weekend, went on to say that any domestic problems the Prime Minister might have been experiencing were not related to his marriage.

"It was domestic rather than anything else - not in any sense about him and Cherie. I have never seen anybody get on like him and Cherie."

Lord Bragg added: "What people don't seem to get is how very, very strong he is, and how determined he is to help make this country a better place. And he thinks he's on track to do that.

"But yes, I think he was under colossal strain... and my guess was that it was domestic rather than anything else."

Friends have pointed out the "wobble" was brief and Mr Blair swiftly made up his mind to stay on for a third term. He has made clear in recent weeks he has no intention of quitting.

Senior Government sources played down the interview. One insider stressed that Lord Bragg had made clear he was speculating about Mr Blair's state of mind and had repeatedly used the phrase "I guess".

"He was not talking from knowledge," the insider said.

Speculation that Mr Blair had been ready to quit in April has been rife in Westminster.

Last week it emerged that Mr Blair had planned to " preannounce" his departure from No10 in May this year but Chancellor Gordon Brown warned it would create a "lame-duck" premiership and trigger bitter in-fighting.

Ms Haste and Mrs Blair's book on the life of Downing Street wives, The Goldfish Bowl, is published next week.