Cairns: Quitting not part of anti-Brown plot

The first minister to quit the British government in protest at Gordon Brown’s leadership denied tonight he was part of a plot to destabilise the prime minister.

David Cairns said he resigned his post as minister of state at the Scotland Office with a “heavy heart” because he believed Labour should hold a leadership contest.

There was fevered speculation at Westminster that his departure would be followed by the resignation of further ministers or parliamentary private secretaries – unpaid ministerial aides – in the run-up to Labour’s annual conference, opening in Manchester on Saturday.

But the Inverclyde MP insisted: “I have no idea – absolutely hand on heart - if anyone else is planning to resign, PPSs, ministers, Cabinet ministers or otherwise.

“I’m not part of a plot. I’m not part of a strategy.”

In a letter to Mr Cairns accepting his resignation, Mr Brown said he was “disappointed” at his decision to quit the government, and warned that now was not the time for Labour to indulge in internal wrangling.

The prime minister wrote: “As you know, the world is facing a time of economic upheaval. I believe it is vital that we as a government, and as a country, stand together in the face of these difficult times and concentrate all our efforts on helping the British people to come through them.

“I am therefore disappointed by your decision to leave the government, and I do not agree with you that this is the time at which the Labour Party should be focused on internal debates.”