'Blair planned to quit before war'

Former Downing Street spin chief Alastair Campbell's diaries recall that the ex-PM told him in July 2002 that he had "never really wanted to do more than two full terms".

The proposed move - amid pressure over moves to military action against Saddam and domestic reforms - was eventually ditched with Mr Blair securing an historic third spell in 2005.

But he controversially still went ahead with the wish to fix a limit to his time in the job by announcing in 2004 that he would not seek a fourth.

In the July 11, 2002 entry from the diaries - which will be published on Monday - Mr Campbell wrote: "TB called me through and we went out for a chat on the terrace. Philip [Gould] had briefed him on how his trust ratings had really dipped. He said 'In truth I've never really wanted to do more than two full terms.'

"It was pretty clear to me that he had just about settled his view, that he would sometime announce it, say that he was going to stay for the full term, but not go into the election as leader.

"The big question was the same as before - does it give him an authority of sorts, or does it erode that authority, and do people just move automatically towards GB (Gordon Brown)?"

Mr Campbell told the Sunday Times he warned Mr Blair it would make him a "lame duck" premier but that he "wasn't totally opposed" to the idea.

The original plan, he said, was to announce the decision at Labour's 2002 Labour party conference.

"What you get as the book goes on is Tony caring less about what people say about him," Campbell told the newspaper.