EXCLUSIVE by Vincent Moss, Political Editor 4/07/2009 Gordon Brown has mounted a “lasagne supper” charm offensive to head off a possible Cabinet revolt this summer. The PM has thrown two parties for ministers in the past fortnight, with wife Sarah laying on trays of cheesy lasagne. The aim has been to send the Cabinet off on the MPs’ long break happy – and quash any talk of a leadership challenge amid warnings of a rift with new Home Secretary Alan Johnson. Allies of Mr Brown are seething over Mr Johnson’s announcement that the idea of compulsory ID cards had been ditched. His act of defiance came after he’d joined Cabinet colleagues at one of the PM’s parties in the Browns’ Downing Street flat, described by one guest as “jolly” and “relaxed”. Mr Johnson’s intervention came on Tuesday, a day the Government had hoped the... [read full story]
