Brown chews on cookie query for too long

London: Gordon Brown has finally revealed his favourite biscuit — after 24 hours of dithering.

The Prime Minister did nothing for his reputation for indecision when he refused to give a straight answer to the vital issue during a live web chat. But on Saturday he tried to bring the "Biscuitgate" controversy to an end by announcing that he was partial to chocolate ones.

Even then, he would not be pinned down and declined to say whether he preferred Bourbons, chocolate digestives, Jaffa cakes or American-style chocolate-chip cookies.

The Biscuitgate row started when Brown answered questions on the Mumsnet website on a wide range of issues, including his recent eye problem. But it all went wrong when he repeatedly failed to respond to enquiries from parents about his favourite biscuit.

With a determination worthy of Jeremy Paxman, the question — a staple of interviews on the site — was put to Brown no fewer than 12 times. Time and again he refused to answer.

One member, MadameDefarge, said: "Maybe he needs to consult with his advisers on what would be the most vote-winning biscuit to admit to liking?"

Brown left the hour-long session with the question unanswered, and afterwards Downing Street still refused to comment. But finally at midday on Saturday, he answered on his Twitter web page, writing: "I missed Mumsnet question about biscuits: the answer is absolutely anything with a bit of chocolate on it, but trying v hard to cut down."