Clarke outburst exposes Labour rift

The ex-home secretary accused Schools Secretary Ed Balls of being "well acquainted" with the kind of anonymous briefing he has blamed on the Prime Minister's internal critics.

"Such things do discredit politics and take us back to the days of faction and party-within-a-party that were so damaging in the 1980s," Mr Clarke wrote in The Times.

The staunch Blairite hit back after Mr Balls described criticism of the Prime Minister as "indulgent nonsense" by those with scores to settle.

Mr Clarke denied that he was considering putting himself forward as a stalking horse challenger to Mr Brown, as has been suggested over the last couple of weeks.

He went on to urge Mr Balls to look at his own record - as a Treasury adviser and minister as well as at the Department for Children, Schools and Families - when considering present difficulties.

"It's certainly true that many Labour MPs, including myself, are disappointed by policy decisions such as the abolition of the 10p tax rate, the over-bureaucratic and insensitive nature of the post office closure programme, and the problems arising from lack of preparation for a Northern Rock-style economic challenge," he said.

"These all stem from Treasury positions with which he is very familiar."

Mr Clarke, a former education secretary, added that he and "many" others were also disappointed with Mr Balls' education policies.

"He should stop attacking others anonymously or in code and look to his own performance and record," he said.