I’m no bully, declares Brown

In the wake of revelations in the Observer that Gordon Brown’s “volcanic eruptions of foul temper” have frightened Downing Street staff, The Times leads with a report on “the culture of fear” that reigns at the heart of Britain’s government. “Most civil servants… are afraid to challenge the way Downing Street is run,” the London daily reports. According to an internal survey leaked to the paper, a third of Cabinet staff want to leave, 6 per cent wish to quit “as soon as possible”, while less than half feel “it is safe to speak up”. The survey also found that “bullying or harrassment was reported by 7 per cent of the Cabinet Office’s 1,270 staff”, a figure which would seem to support claims made by Christine Pratt of the National Bullying Helpline that Downing Street employees had phoned her hotline to complain of workplace mistreatment. Mr Brown has denied all allegations that he has verbally, and even physically, abused staff. The “story is all wrong”, he has declared.