Brown talks first time of quitting office

Jun 21, 2009, 8:36 GMT

London - Amid the ever-widening expenses scandal which has rocked his government, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Saturday talked for the first time about quitting, the Guardian reported.

In an interview with the paper, in which he said he had felt 'hurt' by the personal attacks on him Brown stated: 'To be honest, you could walk away from all of this tomorrow.'

But he stressed that he still aimed to lead his Labour Party in the next general elections.

Brown in the interview mused openly about his own failings and about the trappings of power, which, he insisted, did not interest him.

'I'm not interested in what accompanies being in power. I wouldn't worry if I never returned to all those places ­ Downing Street, Chequers ... And it would probably be good for my children.'

Despite the political turmoil, which has forced him to reshuffle his cabinet and face down a revolt within his own party, Brown was insistent that Labour could still win the next election.

He cited Labour's success in dealing with the economy and the MP expenses scandal, as well as the Tories admitting that they would have to make deep cuts in public spending.

'People know we've made these decisions to try to sort the economy out, but they don't yet see the results. Same thing on MPs. You're in that period between the implementation of your policy and the delivery of it,' he said.

On the personal side, Brown conceded he was not adept at communicating with the public as well as he wished.

'I'm not as great a presenter of information or communicator as I would like to be,' he said. 'I don't actually think I'm very good at it at all.'

The Guardian interview came as meanwhile Scotland Yard said it was starting criminal investigations into the alleged misuse of expenses by several lawmakers.

 A 'small number' of full inquiries of members of both houses of parliament were necessary, Scotland Yard said late Friday. A panel of specialized detectives was to focus on politicians who allegedly deliberately misled authorities or claimed repayments for non- existing mortgages.

   While police did not release any names, the BBC reported that Labour lawmakers David Chaytor and Elliot Morley are among those to be investigated. Both MPs already announced the will stand down, after it emerged that they claimed interest payment on already paid mortgages.

The expenses scandal, which came to the fore following a series of stories by the Daily Telegraph newspaper, rocked Britain's parliament and led the Labour government to the verge of collapse.

The paper published stories on faked or outrageous expense claims, showing that British lawmakers took taxpayer's money for everything from rat poison to moat clearing. A number of Labour ministers and the speaker of the House of Commons had to resign over the scandal.