Brown hires personal trainer for leadership fight

Gordon Brown has hired a personal trainer to prepare him for the leadership struggle that lies ahead, reports indicate.

Millie Dobie, a £50-an-hour health coach, is said to have been arriving at the Brown’s holiday cottage before breakfast to take Mr Brown on outdoor runs.

The prime minister is attempting to improve his physical fitness before returning to Westminster at the end of the month into what many analysts expect to be a period of sustained instability.

Various government camps are agonising over whether to trigger a leadership challenge because of Mr Brown’s performance as prime minister.