[continued from previous message] 
  
 a masterplan drawn up by the Brown camp in preparation for their man's 
 attempts to "clean out the stables" if he succeeds Blair. 
  
 The Prime Minister's public appearance came immediately after a Cabinet 
 meeting at which his own deputy revealed his anger at the status quo. 
 John Prescott reportedly "went bananas" as he sat at the Cabinet table - 
 but the object of his rage was not the Prime Minister. "He was livid 
 with Dromey for going public," the source added. "In doing so he did, 
 however, disclose that he had known nothing about it. He said: 'I didn't 
 know the facts; nobody knew the facts.'" 
  
 Prescott was not alone. Brown's allies maintain that the Chancellor was 
 similarly in the dark, which only adds another troubling element to this 
 most mysterious of Labour's dalliances with sleaze and cronyism. In his 
 day-job, Brown has maintained a rigid control over the nation's finances 
 - - a budget of around €500bn - yet Blair and his closest aides kept him 
 out of their big secret on party funding. 
  
 While Brown's people appear not to have orchestrated the row that 
 engulfed Blair this week, they have not been slow to exploit his latest 
 weakness - and it has been left to Downing Street to sort the mess out. 
  
 Immediately after Blair's performance on Thursday, Dromey was summoned 
 for further negotiations which, according to the Prime Minister's aides, 
 produced a "truce". Unfortunately, this does not appear to be the view 
 of Dromey, who hopes to produce a report to the NEC on Tuesday. 
  
 Scotland on Sunday understands that the treasurer has been furnished 
 with a list of all those who have loaned money to the party, and how 
 much of the €14m they have contributed. 
  
 However, he has also been warned that he cannot reveal any of the names, 
 because they signed confidentiality clauses with Labour before releasing 
 the money - and the party could face legal action if these are broken. 
  
 "Jack hopes to disclose their names as part of his investigation," a 
 party insider confirmed. "He's trying to find a way of getting them into 
 his report on Tuesday, but the party has made it quite clear that there 
 could be legal consequences if any of the names came out." 
  
 A legal battle with those he has worked hard to court in the past? The 
 prospect does not bear thinking about for Blair. As he faces renewed 
 protests over the Iraq war - which will have lasted for three years 
 tomorrow, together with the prospect of further battles from within his 
 own party over education and other controversial public sector reforms, 
 the future must look increasingly grim to a Prime Minister with 
 retirement on his mind. 
  
 If there is one minor positive Downing Street has salvaged from the 
 loans-for-peerages scandal, it is the hope that it will bring state 
 funding closer. It is an option that is said to appeal to Blair, and one 
 aide explained last night: "All democracies need strong parties, and 
 these have to be paid for." 
  
 But, whether or not Blair is truly happy with the notion that taxpayers 
 should fork out yet more money for their politicians, it is hardly the 
 epitaph he would want after almost a decade in charge of the country. 
 Nor would be want to be remembered for the claim that he sanctioned 
 secret loans to keep his party afloat and then agreed that some of the 
 men who provided them should be elevated to the Lords. 
  
 The question for Blair, as he peruses the latest grim details of the 
 latest sordid little scandal to afflict his increasingly fragile 
 premiership, is this: are things going to get much better any time soon; 
 and, if they are not, is it time to give up on his hope for a better 
 legacy and get out while it is still his decision to go? 
  
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