ONE of Tony Blair's closest political allies last night denied the Prime Minister had considered resigning.

John Burton, Mr Blair's agent in his Sedgefield constituency, County Durham, said there was no question of him standing down.

He said: "He's never had any thoughts about that at all, and I want to put this to bed once and for all.

"He said to me that the first person he'd ever tell is me, and he's never ever said a word about resigning.

"It's never come up in discussions, we've never talked about it. Only last week he was saying that he felt strong, he's enjoying the job and wants to get on with the tasks ahead."

The BBC reported that Cabinet colleagues had urged Mr Blair to carry on during a "long dark night of the soul" early last month.

Cabinet ministers John Reid, Charles Clarke, Tessa Jowell and Patricia Hewitt are said to have appealed to Mr Blair to soldier on.

Wife Cherie and Lord Falconer, Mr Blair's former flatmate and Lord Chancellor, also reportedly played crucial roles in convincing him to remain.

Mr Burton, described by the Prime Minster as his friend and mentor, dismissed the reports as pure speculation, fuelled by the Conservative Party.

He said: "It's in the interests of the Tories to have this speculation that Blair's going to go down because they know they can't beat him in an election - but it's absolute rubbish."

The news comes as Mr Blair braces himself for Lord Butler's report on intelligence failings in Iraq and two tricky Parliamentary by-elections.

Mr Clarke said yesterday: "His position is very strong, has always been strong, has never been under threat and will continue up to the election and beyond, and I am very glad that that is the case."

He also suggested Chancellor Gordon Brown may not be a candidate to succeed Mr Blair when he stands down.

Tory leader Michael Howard said last night: "Tensions at the top of Government have now got so great they are interfering in the good government we all want to see."

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said: "This Government are just losing the plot.."