Deputy warns British PM of new leadership threat

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's deputy warned yesterday that he would likely face a renewed threat to his leadership after surviving serious blows last week.

Lord Peter Mandelson predicted that rebels would likely try to dislodge Brown at the governing Labour Party's annual conference in September.

Brown endured the worst week of his rocky premiership after Labour suffered historic losses in the June 4 European and local elections which saw the resignation of 11 ministers amid calls for him to quit and savage critiques of his leadership.

The turmoil left Brown's authority seriously weakened, newspapers said, with rebels still convinced Brown will steer Labour to defeat in the next general election, which must be held by June 2010.

Mandelson, Brown's deputy, told The Daily Telegraph newspaper: "There's a small group who keep coming back. They won't be reconciled to the prime minister's leadership."

However, he said he would not "lose any sleep" over the threat posed by them.

Branding the attempts to unseat Brown a "small earthquake, not many dead", Mandelson hinted that Brown should show more leadership - and lighten up his demeanour.