Tony Blair today tried to draw a line under infighting over the Labour leadership with an appeal to activists to stop worrying about the polls and focus on policy challenges.

The war over Labour’s succession in Britain flared back into life with a vengeance today, as former Home Secretary Charles Clarke launched a ferocious assault on the character of Gordon Brown.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair will announce today that he will quit within a year, following one of the most serious political crises of his premiership.