‘Gordon Brown yesterday moved to announce himself as the pre-eminent figure in British politics, forcing Tony Blair to break his silence on the execution of Saddam Hussein and issuing what amounts to a scathing criticism of the Prime Minister's foreign policy.

With Mr Blair's resignation only months away, the Chancellor vividly demonstrated how the balance of power is tipping his way as he effectively bounced the Prime Minister into his first public condemnation of the manner in which Saddam Hussein was executed.

Despite growing domestic and international unease about the taunting of the former Iraqi dictator, Mr Blair adamantly refused to comment on the matter last week, insisting he would make his first public statement later this week.  

But yesterday, a few hours after the Chancellor said that the way the execution was handled was "completely unacceptable", Downing Street issued a statement telling how the Prime Minister also believes the manner of execution was "completely wrong".’

Brown Takes Swipe At Blair & Forces No 10 To Condemn Saddam Execution