Article: How long before the knives are out? (1) The Premier laughs at adversity & (2) in contrast to stony-faced colleagues Harriet Harman, Ed Balls, Shaun Woodward, John Hutton, Jacqui Smith, Caroline Flint and Ruth Kelly (3) The winner: SNP's John Mason.

Byline: Benedict Brogan, Michael Lea

LABOUR is hurtling towards a leadership crisis as Cabinet ministers prepare to challenge Gordon Brown about his future.

Jack Straw and Geoff Hoon are under growing pressure to ask the Prime Minister to stand aside 'within weeks' in the interests of the party.

The Justice Secretary and the Chief Whip emerged as figures with enough clout to confront Mr Brown with the scale of the task facing him in the wake of defeat in Glasgow East.

Friends of Mr Straw dismissed talk of an imminent 'coup', and he privately urged colleagues to 'take a breath' for the summer holidays.

But there was talk of ministers forcing a September ...

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