McCartney battles to stay in cabinet

London Labour chairman Ian McCartney launched a defiant battle to survive in his post, pitching Prime Minister Tony Blair's reshuffle into new crisis.

The fiery Scot came out fighting after months of sniping over his performance in charge of the party machine. He insisted he was the right man for the job and denounced his anonymous critics for "unacceptable" behaviour.

His move to pre-empt Blair's cabinet changes, expected to start soon, appeared to be an extraordinary act of defiance. It was initially unclear if No. 10 had sanctioned his comments, made in an interview with The Guardian.

The reshuffle hit yet more trouble as it emerged that Alan Milburn, the former health secretary tipped to take over as chairman, was refusing to come back unless given sweeping formal powers over Labour's election campaign and policy manifesto for a third term.

Milburn, who quit 14 months ago to spend time with his family, was reported to have told Downing Street privately he will not return to the cut and thrust of Cabinet for a mere "salesman" role on radio and television.

The conflicts left Blair in a huge dilemma over how far he dared go in the reshuffle. Giving Milburn his way would enrage Gordon Brown, who currently chairs the election campaign team. But doing nothing would be seen as a failure of nerve and a victory for the chancellor.

McCartney, meanwhile, is protected by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and is highly popular with backbench MPs and the unions who respect his working class image.

His fightback appeared carefully pitched to arouse sympathy from ministers and activists dismayed by high-level infighting. He said he had been the victim of sniping about his Glasgow accent and background. "The most difficult part, and maybe the part which was unacceptable, was when people brief against you on a personal basis," he said.

"I'm very proud of my background and very proud of my accent, that's never been an issue. It's more an issue for the Westminster village."