Life inside the Number 10 bunker is “even more horrible than I had imagined, with bullying, bad temper and tantrums”, according to one insider who called to give me an update. Further to my last bulletin, it seems that Gordon Brown is feeling increasingly isolated as he realises that he does not have the protection around him that he needs and believes he deserves.

As Labour’s dodgy funding scandal rages, the prime minister can no longer rely so much on his longtime lieutenant, Ed Balls, the schools secretary. “Gordon doesn’t seem to realise that Ed has a department to run,” says one senior Whitehall figure. “But Ed realises it and he can’t be there all the time giving advice on the Labour party – not that Ed knows about the Labour party anyway. So who is advising Gordon on the party? Harriet Harman is the one who should be protecting his flank but he can hardly rely on her, can he?”