A raft of present and past UK Government ministers threw a protective ring around Gordon Brown yesterday after it was claimed Tony Blair had written off his successor�s chances of winning the next general election.

A raft of present and past UK Government ministers threw a protective ring around Gordon Brown yesterday after it was claimed Tony Blair had written off his successor's chances of winning the next general election.

Although there was a vehement denial from Mr Blair's office of the damaging assertion from Lord Levy, the ex-PM's former confidante and chief fundraiser, minister after minister took to the airwaves to defend the increasingly beleaguered prime minister.

The timing of the peer's claims, just days before Thursday's local elections in England and Wales, and the publication used, Labour-baiting Mail on Sunday, seemed geared to cause the maximum amount of damage to Mr Brown in particular and Labour in general.

Again, the backdrop for the UK Government to the latest political development was unhelpful: another poll suggesting David Cameron would walk into Downing Street with a healthy majority; industrial unrest with the Grangemouth strike; continuing Labour discontent on tax in a Commons debate due today and reports of another U-turn in the offing over the issue of extending detention to 42 days.

Yesterday, Angus Robertson for the SNP said Lord Levy had delivered a "damning indictment" of Mr Brown's leadership, and noted: "Labour Party members may soon be wishing they could have Tony Blair back."

Today, the Conservatives will seek to capitalise on the PM's woes when David Cameron, who yesterday insisted he wanted to "stand up" for the low-paid, will make a speech on how Labour has "failed to tackle poverty".

In the eagerly awaited serialisation of his autobiography, A Question of Honour, Lord Levy, arrested only to be later cleared over the cash-for-honours allegations, attacked the "lack of strong leadership" in the Labour Party.

In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, he said Mr Brown's leadership had been "very indecisive", and stressed: "There are people who are great number twos but when thrust into the leadership role they cannot cut the ice. Gordon Brown has not cut the ice." He claimed Mr Blair felt his successor "could never beat" Mr Cameron. According to the peer, the ex-PM also branded Mr Brown a "liar" for his alleged part in attempts to hasten his exit as leader.

The 63-year-old peer described how Mr Blair felt he could have won a fourth term had he not stood down last summer. "But Gordon? He can't defeat Cameron," Mr Blair was quoted as saying.

While Lord Levy made clear the ex-PM did not believe the Tory leader was his "heir" or the finished article, he said: "He did believe Cameron had major strengths - a sense of political timing, a winning personality and a natural ability to communicate and connect with people outside the closed world of politics, particularly in the crucial Middle England constituencies - that Gordon would simply be unable ever to match."

However, Mr Blair's office rejected Lord Levy's assertions and insisted the ex-PM was 100% supportive of his successor and "fully believes Labour, with Gordon Brown's leadership, can win the next election".

Harriet Harman, Labour's Deputy Leader, insisted Mr Brown was a "world-class leader", and added: "These are serious times and it's time for a very serious leader and that is exactly what Gordon Brown is." David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, rejected any idea that the PM would have to stand down if Labour sustained heavy defeats in Thursday's elections. "We know what's fatal," he said.

"If we fail to defend the leader, we lose sight of our core convictions and we don't follow through on what we started."

Justice Secretary Jack Straw described the Prime Minister as "the heart of New Labour". He admitted the UK Government faced difficulties but insisted that, under Mr Brown's leadership, "we can get through this".

Peter Mandelson, the EU Trade Commissioner and Mr Brown's one-time sparring partner, called on the party to support the leader but also urged it to "pull itself together", "refocus" and ensure its policies were relevant to voters' everyday concerns.