London: Gordon Brown has admitted for the first time that he should have become the British Prime Minister, and not Tony Blair, when New Labour came to power in 1994, a remark confirming the simmering feud between the two during Labours first 10 years in office.
Brown said he had the experience and skills to lead the country after former leader John Smith’s death.
For years the two top Labour leaders denied that they were at loggerheads. Lifting the lid on the tensions surrounding his relationship with Blair, Brown also admitted that it was "incredibly difficult" and they had fights while in office.
In an interview to a TV channel, Brown also admitted that they did concoct a deal, once Blair became Labour leader, for Brown to succeed him as prime minister.
Though Blair was junior to Brown in 1994, Brown stood aside after Smith’s death.
"I believed I could do the job, I believed that I had got the experience and built up the experience to do it," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
"I don’t deny.... that there were fights about different issues but it’s always the case," he said in the interview.
According to the report in the British daily, Brown talks about his student life, alcohol, his wife Sarah and their children. Brown also speaks movingly about the death of his daughter and his son’s illness, it said.
PTI
