PRIME Minister Gordon Brown has chosen to adorn the walls of his Downing Street flat with a landscape painting depicting the backyard of one of his political opponents.

The newly ensconced leader is allowed to choose a number of works from the Government's art collection for his family's home next to No. 10.

When asked what he would like, he is reported to have said simply: "Get me some nice landscapes."

Whether or not the choice was a deliberate one by the civil servant handed the task is unclear, but one of the six paintings chosen is an oil painting of the town of Richmond - in the constituency of former Tory leader William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary.

At least one art critic has suggested there may be something afoot with the choice of work from the late artist John Aldridge, which is joined in the collection by Two Trees, by Susan Hawker; Open Lane, by Pauline Jones; Philip Sutton's Heathland; Towards Norway, by Mark Thompson; and North Cyprus, by Euan Uglow.

David Lee, editor of the art magazine Jackdaw, said: "I think somebody is making a little bit of gentle mischief with these choices."

Robin Simon, editor of the British Art Journal, believes the view of Richmond is "one of the few really good paintings chosen".

He said: "Aldridge was a member of the Royal Academy and a characteristically solid, good and very English painter.

"His landscapes are particularly highly crafted.

"The amusing thing about this choice is that John Aldridge is famous for being about as Establishment a figure as you could possibly get -something of which any civil servant charged with looking after the Government collection would be well aware."

Aldridge was born in 1905 in Woolwich and became a skilled oil painter, teacher and wallpaper designer. He mainly painted landscapes in Essex, and his work hangs in the Tate Gallery, The Royal Academy and the Victoria and Albert Museum. He died in 1983.

Whether or not the inclusion is mischievous, it has been welcomed by a least one politician in North Yorkshire.

Councillor John Blackie, who sits on Richmondshire District Council, said: "I commend Gordon Brown on his taste and style.

"He has got very fine taste and Richmond is a very fine town. I love walking round Richmond, which has something for everyone.

"It is a wonderful town which is full of history and characters.

"I commend his taste and I am pleased a picture of Richmond will hang in the corridors of power."