Speculation over Brown's eyesight

Downing Street took the unusual step of revealing the results of medical check-ups amid intense speculation over the Prime Minister's health.

But a spokesman insisted that his vision was not getting worse, and he did not need further surgery.

Cabinet ministers rallied round Mr Brown, with Home Secretary Alan Johnson saying there was "no possibility whatsoever" of him stepping down

"He is fit and well and able and determined and energetic," Mr Johnson told the BBC's Andrew Marr show.

Work and Pensions Secretary Yvette Cooper said she had "never noticed any manifestation" of the premier's eyesight problems.

"I do sometimes wonder what all the fuss is about in this," she told Sky News' Sunday Live programme. "The idea that we should be a country that writes people off from employment or senior positions just because of difficulties with their eyesight, I just think that is not the kind of country we want to be."

Mr Brown also received backing from a less likely quarter, with shadow defence secretary Liam Fox - a former GP - insisting: "I think it's quite brave that they have put this information out.

"I think transparency is a good thing given some of the speculation that was going on. I think there are lots of reasons why Gordon Brown should not be the Prime Minister - this big build up of debt, the refusal to give us the referendum (on the Lisbon Treaty) - but not picking on his eyesight. To focus on this and to say that that would make him unfit to be Prime Minister is not the sort of politics we should be indulging in."

In a statement, Downing Street said: "This summer Mr Brown had his annual eye check-up which was fine. Later he had his retina checked. After examinations surgeons found that the retina had two minor tears. However, as there has been no further deterioration, and no change in his eyesight, they decided against further operations."