GOVERNMENT fixer Peter Mandelson delivered a damning indictment of Gordon Brown, telling one of his closest former aides that the PM needs to change because he is a "self-conscious person, physically and emotionally".

The new First Secretary of State-now Brown's No2-made the devastating judgement in a leaked email to disgraced ex-Labour spin doctor Derek Draper, the man behind the "McBridegate" smear scandal.

And Lord Mandelson-who pledged his total loyalty to Brown on Friday-twisted the knife by SLAMMING his leadership style and BRANDING him so INSECURE he resorts to celebrity gimmicks, such as pretending to love the X-FACTOR.

In one devastating comment Mandy said: "A new public persona cannot be glued onto him."

The poisonous message will drop a bombshell among Labour MPs reeling from beleaguered Brown's decision to make Mandelson his second in command.

It was written in January 2008, when Mandy was a European Commissioner-just eight months before he returned to government as Brown's new Business Secretary.

In the message to Draper, Mandelson attacks the Premier's leadership methods claiming he is "complex" and unable to hide his insecurities. He also says he has no strategic direction.

He tells Draper voters are put off because they think Brown is "angry" and lashes him for failing to get a grip during the disasters at the start of his Premiership -floods, the Glasgow terror attack and an outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

In the email he also says Brown is too obsessed with celebrity gimmicks instead of telling voters what he actually stands for. Mandelson says "strategic policy formulation" is more important than "telling people you watch the X-Factor." Last week Mr Brown phoned X Factor boss Simon Cowell to check up on the welfare of Scots singer Susan Boyle.

And in another TV-related twist the PM announced he was giving Apprentice star Sir Alan Sugar a peerage and a key post as business czar.

Mandelson even hints in his messages that what Brown really needs to survive is his own return, saying the PM is short of the sort of heavyweight politicians Tony Blair surrounded himself with.

Tomorrow, the Prime Minister goes face to face at a Parliamentary Labour Party meeting with the ex-Cabinet Ministers and MPs plotting his exit.

Yesterday he looked a broken man as he marked the 65th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy. The PM joined world leaders including Barack Obama to celebrate the key military victory as he battled for his political life behind the scenes.

Slip

Pale and uncomfortable, he kept nervously flattening his hair and clasping his hands between his knees. He was even BOOED by veterans who blame him for the fact that the Queen wasn't there.

And he made an embarrassing slip when he called Omaha Beach "Obama Beach".

The PM seemed relieved to have not already lost his job, and said: "It's an honour for me to speak for the British people." But tonight he is expected to take another pounding as the results of the European Election are released. They will follow the devastating results in the local elections, when Labour lost its final four county councils to the Tories.

Through his worst week in politics, Brown was totally dependent on Mandelson who stopped the coup against him.

When the emails were written, Brown and Mandy were at the end of a 13-year feud. But they healed their rift and Mandelson was given a seat in the House of Lords and the job of Business Secretary. Since then he has been Brown's right hand man. On Friday, he was given the post of First Secretary of State and helped organise the reshuffle. He played a key role in halting a concerted bid to unseat Brown.

After James Purnell resigned on Thursday night, it was Mandelson who steadied the ship. Downing Street feared Miliband was poised to resign as well if moved from the Foreign Office. But a call from Mandelson stopped the rot. On reaching David Miliband, he did a deal straight away, saying: "You'll stay on as Foreign Secretary."

An eye-witness says he added: "I know Brown has behaved like a b****** and has got to change. But we're the only people who can keep Tony Blair's flame alive and keep his mission going from the inside.

"If you stand down there will be a civil war in the Labour Party and we'll lose a General Election." Miliband blinked first and issued a statement pledging his support. But Mandelson's deal had smashed Gordon Brown's plans for a wide-ranging reshuffle. Yesterday Mandy claimed: "I have become a loyalist not because I'm a sycophant-I've never been a sycophant towards Gordon. It's because of his personal qualities, his understanding of the big picture, that I support him now. I am sorry that he sometimes appears a bit rough or idiosyncratic but I would rather have someone with brains than someone who is showy but has no substance."

Mandelson claimed he admired Brown's ability to handle "the big challenges in what is a very torrid environment". He said Brown is "a policy person, not a pop star. He does have emotional intelligence; he also has real values, which drive his politics. He has taken on the global recession and the collapse of public trust in politics well."

But Labour MPs are likely to demand Mandelson's power be limited after his secret thoughts are revealed.

One told the News of the World last night: "I'm going to ask Gordon about this. His government is built around Peter Mandelson and he professes loyalty. But these emails make it seem like naked ambition." However, it is his links with Derek Draper that will anger MPs most. Draper worked alongside ex-Brown aide Damian McBride to smear senior Tory MPs. He planned to set up a "Red Rag" website, which would carry smear stories about David Cameron, George Osborne and others.

After the News of the World revealed emails between McBride and Draper, Mcbride quit and Draper was forced to resign from Labourlist, a leftwing website he set up.

Last night a friend of Draper said: "The full email shows Peter believed any challenges Gordon faced could be sorted. They were the kind of blunt insights Peter now gives to Gordon as a member of his cabinet."

A spokesman for Mandelson told us: "This email response was sent over a year ago in response to the suggestion that Gordon Brown needed to change his image.

"What Peter was saying was that Gordon should just be himself, that artificiality does not work in politics, and that what he is and what he stands for and the policies he is pursuing should be allowed to speak for themselves."

This article has 9 comments