Sketch: Harried Harriet doesn't let men spoil her day

Harriet Harman, the Leader of the Commons, praised Gordon Brown as a “man of true grit” as she stood in for him at Prime Minister's Questions.

The Labour deputy leader - whom Mr Brown refused to appoint as his own deputy - was taunted by the Tories about reports that she is positioning herself to replace the Prime Minister if he is forced out of offfice.

Taking Commons questions while Mr Brown was at the G8 summit in Japan, Ms Harman told MPs that she backed Mr Brown to lead the country through the “difficult circumstances” the economy was facing.

But William Hague, himself standing in for David Cameron, said that people were sick of the Prime Minister and wished Ms Harman well in her “campaign to be rid of him”.

Mr Hague mocked Mr Brown's drive to get families to cut down on food waste, claiming the Treasury’s hospitality bill more than trebled during Mr Brown’s tenure at No 11.

By way of retort, Ms Harman said the “last person” Mr Brown would look to for advice was “somebody who thinks a good diet is 18 pints a day”. Mr Hague quipped: “None of that was ever wasted, I can assure you.”

But he claimed the Treasury hospitality bill showed Mr Brown was “preaching one rule to the country and practising another behind the closed doors of Government”. He added: “Isn’t there something supremely ironic about being lectured about food waste by a Prime Minister who is past his sell-by date?

“Isn’t this why the whole country is sick of the Prime Minister and may I speak for the whole House when I wish you well in your campaign to be rid of him.”

Ms Harman replied: “You shouldn’t underestimate the Prime Minister, who is a man of true grit and determination. He will see the country through the difficult circumstances.”

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