Miliband denies 'Labour cold war'

Foreign Secretary David Miliband has denied relations between him and the prime minister are frosty.

Mr Miliband, who has been touted as a potential leadership challenger, was asked about relations with Gordon Brown during a press conference in Georgia.

"There are no frosty relations at all", in the government, he said, adding that he and Mr Brown are "working closely".

In July he wrote an article on Labour's future but made no mention of Mr Brown, who returned from holiday on Tuesday.

The foreign secretary said he was prompted to write his Guardian article because of the sense of "fatalism" in the party after its defeat in the Glasgow East by-election.

In the article, Mr Miliband urged Labour to find confidence to make its case afresh.

He has stressed on a number of occasions that he is not planning a leadership bid.

Following talks in the Georgian capital, Tibilisi, the foreign secretary was asked whether, for all the Cold War rhetoric being used with regards to Georgia, there was a cold war within the Labour Party.

Mr Miliband said: "There are no frosty relations at all within the government. I'm working closely with the prime minister on this issue. Just yesterday we were talking about the next steps - he's been making a major contribution at head of government level.

"This is clearly an international crisis, which the whole of the important work of the Foreign Office is now focussed on, obviously, and the prime minister and I are working closely together on the issue."

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Labour
Foreign Office
The Guardian
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites