Clarke: Who says Brown will be next leader?

Education Secretary Charles Clarke today fired a warning shot at Gordon Brown's ambition to be Labour's next leader.

Asked about the Chancellor's drive for the top job he said: "Nobody is entitled to an automatic inheritance of any description."

He also hinted that he saw himself as a contender when Tony Blair stepped down - which he did not think would be for several years. He said whether or not he would stand "entirely depends on the circumstances".

Mr Clarke's outspoken comments, in an interview with the New Statesman, are certain to anger the Chancellor, whose relations with the Education Secretary have never been warm. Asked about the argument-that it was Mr Brown's "turn" to succeed Mr Blair, Mr Clarke claimed: "I don't understand this 'turn' argument. What is this 'turn' argument?

"There's a completely false view that there is a natural order to political transition. All I can say is that a) I hope Tony lasts as long as possible, and I believe he will, and b) at the point when he goes for whatever reason there'll be an election in the Labour Party."