Mutiny against PM gathers momentum

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One leading rebel claimed the majority of Labour MPs wanted a challenge to the Prime Minister and that one was now inevitable.

While the number of MPs publicly calling for a contest remained small, the forceful interventions of more former ministers increased the momentum of an apparent plot.

All eyes are now on the Cabinet as those involved in the moves against Mr Brown hope for a high-ranking minister to join them in their stand.

The crisis engulfing the premier, which comes ahead of Labour's annual conference next weekend, escalated on Saturday with the sacking of a second Labour figure in as many days.

Joan Ryan was dismissed as Labour's vice chairman and Mr Brown's envoy to Cyprus for calling for a leadership election.

On Friday, assistant whip Siobhain McDonagh lost her job after making the same demand.

Former minister Fiona Mactaggart has become the latest MP to publicly call for a change of leadership.

"I think we should give a chance to someone else to take over - I really do," she said in an interview with BBC1's Politics Show. "The problem that I see is a lack of clarity about our ambitions for Britain."

Another former minister, George Howarth, also urged Mr Brown to "give somebody else a chance" if he could not recapture the public's trust urgently. And Graham Stringer, a Labour backbencher, claimed that most of his colleagues agreed that the Prime Minister should face a contest.