Brown furious over Blair snub

Relations between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown fell to a new low today after an astonishing rebuff to the Chancellor.

To the fury of Mr Brown and his supporters, the Prime Minister flatly rejected his request for a seat on the Labour Party's powerful National Executive Committee.

It appeared to be a calculated snub to the Chancellor who learned of the decision on returning to work yesterday after paternity leave.

The move comes only months after Mr Blair elbowed Mr Brown aside on another key body, by taking over the chairmanship of Labour's election strategy committee.

That left Mr Brown's allies bitterly accusing Downing Street of trying to freeze out the Chancellor, who chaired the past two election campaigns.

The latest rejection prompted angry claims that Mr Blair was manoeuvring to block his most senior rival from amassing a powerbase for a future leadership campaign.

The NEC is Labour's supreme body with extensive powers to impose election candidates and dictate changes to party finances and key officials. But Mr Blair has kept tight personal control over the 33-member committee since winning the leadership.

Mr Brown has now twice applied to Mr Blair for a seat - and both times been dismissed. A year ago he is thought to have argued that he should join the NEC to begin planning the election to no avail. His latest request was submitted in July.

Downing Street denied there was any snub. A spokesman said the Prime Minister only controlled three seats on the NEC. One was occupied by party chairman Ian McCartney and the other two went to junior minister Hazel Blears and Douglas Alexander, an ally of Mr Brown.

"This is not an issue," insisted No 10. "The PM always appoints at least one woman and Douglas is in charge of election planning." But in another sign of the pair's deteriorating relationship, Mr Brown was being accused of stretching loyalty to the limit in his recent attacks on the EU.

Mr Brown marked his return to work yesterday by demanding assurances that the EU constitution will not include tax harmonisation.

Allies of Mr Blair said the assault went far beyond Government policy by implying the constitution - downplayed as a "tidying up exercise" by No 10 - posed a potential threat to British sovereignty.