Under-fire Brown admits: 'I'm the best man to do the job...probably'

Gordon Brown brushed aside calls for him to step aside yesterday and warned he is the only Labour politician capable of winning the next election.

He sent a clear signal to his MPs that he has no intention of being bundled out if things get worse for his Government this summer.

But, in a media offensive to justify his leadership on the basis of his decade as Chancellor, he allowed a hint of doubt to creep in when he let slip that he is "probably" the right person for the job.

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The Prime Minister argued he is the only one to steer the country through economic turmoil and a possible recession this year.

"I have done it before and I can do it again," he said.

Asked if he thought it might be time for him to stand aside, Mr Brown said: "There is a job to do. I have had experience in the last 11 years of building a strong economy in this country.

"The reason (the economy) is going wrong is international factors that we have had to deal with and I am probably best placed to deal with these issues because of what I know about dealing with other countries on oil and other issues."

Mr Brown submitted himself to a series of grillings, with interviews on television and radio followed by his monthly conference in Downing Street.

It was the latest stage in what has proved to be a run of torrid weeks for the PM that have left Labour MPs in despair and fearful for their seats.

On Tuesday he dealt a heavy blow to his economic credibility when he announced an emergency giveaway of £2.7billion to correct the 10p tax fiasco.

Then on Wednesday his draft legislative programme failed to set Westminster alight and was overshadowed by the Bank of England's shock warning of a possible recession.

Pressed repeatedly about his future, Mr Brown dismissed speculation as "rumour and gossip" which would not distract him from "getting on with the job" of being Prime Minister.

He is still reeling from Labour's catastrophic results at the local and London elections, and is braced for a loss in next week's Crewe and Nantwich by-election.

With MPs resigned to losing the next election, they are anguishing in private whether to stick with Mr Brown as leader or ditch him.

The Premier acknowledged for the first time that he has rivals, but made clear he has no intention of giving them a chance.

"There are many people who could take over but I think I can steer this economy through difficult times," he said.

"Of course they are capable of doing the job, but I'm doing the job. I was elected unopposed and I think people understand that we are getting on with the job and I am not going to be distracted by this gossip."

Mr Brown said Britain's economic challenges stem in large part from the credit crunch caused by events in America and from higher oil and food prices caused by higher demand from China and India.

He acknowledged again that mistakes had been made over the abolition of the 10p tax rate.

But he said the £2.7billion package announced by Alistair Darling would correct the problem and inject money to help the economy.

Mr Brown also claimed that as a family man often woken at 4am by his young son, he understands some of the pressure faced by families struggling with a rising cost of living.