Miliband issues warning on spin doctors

Damian McBride's claims began being published just before the Labour conference started

Former spin doctor Damian McBride will never work for Labour again, party leader Ed Miliband has said.

In a new book being serialised in the Daily Mail, Mr McBride, who worked for Gordon Brown, said he routinely leaked stories to smear the ex-PM's opponents.

Speaking to the Observer, Mr Miliband said Labour would not re-employ Mr McBride, and anyone caught "briefing against" colleagues would be sacked.

He also said he told Mr Brown he was "worried" by Mr McBride's behaviour.

"I complained to Gordon about what Damian was up to," he added.

'No factions'

Mr Miliband said trying to discredit Labour colleagues was "totally unacceptable".

But he told the paper he considered the comments made by Mr McBride - who resigned in 2009 after he was caught planning to smear senior Conservatives - "ancient history".

"The lesson we should draw is no factions, no briefing," he said.

"If you think about the way I've led in the last three years, we don't have briefings against people in the shadow cabinet. We don't have that kind of thing happening."

The Labour Party conference, held in Brighton, will start on Sunday.