DURHAM County Council tried to pull out of a revolt against Gordon Brown’s free care for the elderly plans after a plea from a senior Labour figure in London, its leader admitted last night.

Councillor Simon Henig tried to remove the Labourrun council’s name from a highly-critical round-robin letter – attacking the plans as “unclear and unfunded” – after receiving the telephone call.

The embarrassing U-turn sparked Conservative claims that Councillor Henig, and the leaders of Sunderland and South Tyneside authorities, were silenced on Downing Street’s orders.

Speaking to The Northern Echo, Durham’s leader said he received no instructions from No 10 or anyone else in government, adding: “They were not involved.” But, asked if he was “hushed up” by the Labour caller, he replied: “It was the right thing to do. It (the letter) was a political stunt.”

The call is believed to have been made by the Labour group of the Local Government Association, possibly its leader Sir Jeremy Beecham, a councillor in Newcastle.

Sir Jeremy has admitted his group contacted the council leaders, but denied acting on the Government’s orders – or instructing them to withdraw their signatures.

The controversy blew up after Councillor Morris Nicholls, Durham’s executive member for adult services, signed a letter, published in The Times, that savaged Mr Brown’s Personal Care at Home Bill.

Designed to spare the elderly the ordeal of losing their homes to pay care bills, the Bill promised to fund daily help – for such things as dressing, washing and using the toilet – for 280,000 pensioners in most need.

But the letter warned the £670m scheme, due to be implemented in October, could not be afforded and would force painful cuts or council tax rises, and demanded an urgent review.

It was also signed by North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for adult services, Councillor Chris Metcalfe.

An email trail has revealed that Coun Nicholls, when asked to sign up by Tory-run Essex County Council, replied: “I fully support this and am happy to add my name.”

But, late on Tuesday, it became clear that the signatures of Durham, Sunderland and South Tyneside – as well as two other Labour-run councils – were a huge embarrassment to Mr Brown, who has made the Bill his pre-election flagship.

At 2.30pm, The Times contacted the Department of Health for a response. Within hours, it received five nearidentical emails from the council leaders asking for their names to be taken off the letter.

At 6.01pm, Coun Henig emailed, writing: “Councillor Morris Nicholls, of Durham County Council, has informed me that he wishes to withdraw his name from the list of signatories.”

South Tyneside’s leader, Councillor Iain Malcolm, made the same request at 7.22pm and Sunderland’s Councillor Norma Wright at 7.33pm. But yesterday, Coun Henig acknowledged that he acted after receiving the London telephone call, knowing nothing about the critical letter until Tuesday.

He made no criticism of the contents of the letter, but admitted Durham had no specific pot of money to fund the elderly care scheme and did not know what the cost would be.

Instead, Coun Henig condemned the letter as a stunt because it coincided with a Tory poster campaign attacking long-term care plans – a possible £20,000 levy to cover all bills – as a “death tax”.

He said: “The letter was brought to my attention by the portfolio holder [Coun Nicholls] and by somebody nationally. It was somebody within local government, but I’m not going to say any more than that.

“It was clear to me, when I discovered who the lead signatory was, that it was a political stunt. I was not born yesterday. I knew exactly what it was all about.

“But I had no conversation with anybody from any Government department, or at No 10. I can categorically say they were not involved.”

Asked if the scheme was illconceived and unfunded, Coun Henig replied: “I have not looked at the detail of the Bill”.

Asked how much it would cost Durham, he said: “I don’t know, it differs from council to council.” He added: “If you are asking if there is a budget for it this year, the answer is no – there has been no specific increase for this Bill, although we have received extra money for older people.” A Downing Street spokesman said: “There was no contact between anyone from No 10 and the councillors who chose to remove their names from what appears to be a Tory-orchestrated party political attack.”

But Stephen O’Brien, the Tory health spokesman, said: “This is a desperate move from the Labour Party because they know their social care plans are in chaos. It shows just how bad things have got that they’re having to hush up their own councils.”