Another key member of Gordon Brown's inner circle has quit.

Beth Russell, Mr Brown's favourite speechwriter for several years, is leaving No10 to return to the Treasury next month.

She is the fourth close aide to the Prime Minister to move on since his new political strategist Stephen Carter arrived this year: the others are strategy director Spencer Livermore, political secretary Fiona Gordon and former chief of staff Tom Scholar.

Tomorrow's PR Week reveals that Downing Street permanent secretary Jeremy Heywood has resorted to sending a round-robin letter to government departments in what the magazine calls a "desperate bid" to find a replacement for Ms Russell.

Dated 17 June, his letter describes the job as "a high profile and demanding post involving daily contact with the Prime Minister". It goes on: "I would be grateful if you could each put forward the names of one or two individuals who would particularly excel in this role."

A regular civil servant, Ms Russell worked on policy before writing speeches for Mr Brown. Colleagues say she was better than anybody else at "sounding like Gordon's own voice" in her writing.

A Downing Street source said it was "rubbish" that Mr Brown was struggling to recruit someone else. It was just "normal process" for such a role.

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