And former home secretary Charles Clarke repeated his call for Mr Brown to improve his performance or quit with honour, saying Labour had to "recover the will to win" and reject "fatalist defeatism".

BBC: Minister quits in Brown protest

"It's been an absolute honour and a privilege to play with him and even more so to call him a mate, " said McGrath.

BBC: Ponting leads praise for Hayden

He seems to view his controversial rescue of engineering group Alstom and his call for there to be a French buyer of Aventis, a drug firm, as badges of honour.

ECONOMIST: French business