Brown Aide Confirms Bullying Allegations in Secret Tape

Two weeks ago I blogged about Stewart Wood, the Number Ten official Gordon Brown called a "c***". More details HERE.

Now this is delicious. The Mail on Sunday has a tape of Stewart Wood outlining just how abusive the Prime Minister can be.

In addition, I understand they have a fairly explosive story which might go some way to show why Geoff Hoon is standing down at the next election.

UPDATE 10.15pm: The full story is on the Mail website HERE. Here are the key extracts...

Gordon Brown was accused of lying about his bullying behaviour last night after one of his closest aides revealed in a sensational tape-recording how the Prime Minister shoved him on the stairs inside No10.

In the tape, obtained by The Mail on Sunday, the official describes how he exclaimed ‘Bloody hell!’ and was left ‘shocked and upset’ when Mr Brown pushed him aside with a raised arm.

The adviser says Mr Brown’s staff have made excuses for his bullying behaviour for years. And, damagingly, he questions whether they had been right to do so, arguing a ‘core part’ of being Prime Minister is to treat people properly.

The comments were made by Mr Brown’s senior foreign policy adviser, Dr Stewart Wood, one of the most powerful officials in Whitehall. They directly contradict Mr Brown’s repeated denials that he bullied staff, following claims in a new book by political journalist Andrew Rawnsley.

Today, The Mail on Sunday produces explosive evidence of Mr Brown’s bullying. It comes in the form of a tape-recording of Dr Wood, a Labour-supporting Oxford don and friend of Mr Brown, who has been on the receiving end of the Prime Minister’s bullying.

In the taped conversation with pro-Labour journalist Suzie Mackenzie, Dr Wood denies he was actually hit in the clash on the Downing Street stairs. Mr Brown did ‘not quite’ throw a punch at him, he says.

But he confirms the Prime Minister pushed him and shouted ‘Get outta my way’ at him. He said the incident left him shocked.

The interview took place on January 14 over lunch in Westminster’s Cinnamon Club, a £50-a-head Indian restaurant a short walk from Downing Street that is popular with politicians. Ms Mackenzie asked Dr Wood: ‘Did Gordon ever punch you?’

Stewart Wood: ‘That’s interesting.’

SM: ‘Someone told me that he hit you once and you were very cross.’

SW: ‘Did they tell you I ran in to the toilet crying? I didn’t by the way. I did say, “Bloody hell.” I was pretty shocked. I was standing at the top of the stairs at No10. There was a reception for EU ambassadors and I was waiting . . . to say these are the three people you need to speak to.

‘He was in a really bad mood. He walked up the stairs. And I leant forward and he went, “Outta my way!” And did that [Dr Wood makes a sweeping gesture with his arm] “Get outta my way!” Then he walked off.’

SM: ‘You were shocked?’

SW: ‘Yeah, yeah definitely. He’s never punched me. He did push me aside . . . I was slightly shocked. I stood there and went something like, “Christ Almighty!” . . . Gordon can be rude in a kind of routine way.’

Dr Wood, who is in his 40s, adds that Mr Brown is ‘routinely rude’. Moreover, Dr Wood suggests Mr Brown’s staff have put up with his tantrums for too long and that as Prime Minister, he has a duty to behave better.

‘I used to think, “Oh, that’s just Gordon,”’ said Dr Wood. ‘As a team we too often say, “That’s just Gordon.” We all try and apologise for it. But it is important. It has become more important since he’s become Prime Minister because how you deal, as an individual, with human beings is actually a core part of the job.’

The candid conversation came as part of Ms Mackenzie’s research for an authorised biography of the Prime Minister. Her book, Gordon Brown: A Portrait Of A Man is to be serialised in The Mail on Sunday later this year.

Listen to the tape recording HERE.