Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman today dismissed “media speculation” about the future of Gordon Brown as the Government faced accusations of being in its “death throes”.

She rejected suggestions the Government and party was in crisis. And, when asked if Mr Brown would be the leader of the Labour Party at the next general election, Ms Harman said: “Yes, he certainly will.”

She said: “There won’t be a leadership challenge, nor should there be, because he is the person with the vision to take us through these very, very difficult times and I also think he is very resolute and he knows what his responsibilities are.

“His duty as Prime Minister is not to be swayed by media speculation, but to get on with the job that we are all elected to do.”

Her remarks came as Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg threw his weight behind SNP and Plaid Cymru moves to use an opposition day debate next Wednesday to urge the PM to request the dissolution of Parliament and hold a general election.

He accused the Government of being in its “death throes”.

Plotting

“The Government of the day needs to be able to deliver, it needs to be able to function, it needs to be able to work as a team and it is not able to do any of those things.

“Half the Government seems to be jumping ship, the other half seems to be plotting about what they are going to do to oust Gordon Brown and replace him.

“That is a dysfunctional Government, that is a Government of paralysis, that is a Government that is talking to itself.”

Mr Brown’s woes were increased as another senior minister’s expenses claims – including £6,000 of work on his second home and a £2,225 sofa unit – were rev-ealed by the Daily Telegraph.

Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth defended his use of taxpayer-funded all-owances, insisting he had re-mained within “the spirit and the letter” of Commons rules.

“The problem is, of course, that the rules were not good rules. We now must act to change this,” he said.

The party leadership were accused of operating a “kangaroo court” after Norwich North MP Ian Gibson was banned from defending his seat by an internal panel ex-amining controversial claims.

Dr Gibson was the only one of four MPs formally barred from standing again as Labour candidates by the National Executive Committee’s “star chamber” not to have already announced he would quit.

By London Reporter Sunita Patel