If Gordon Brown was a buffalo, then the photos shown below will probably have been stills from a heartbreaking scene from a new David Attenborough documentary showing the animal's last moments after it was mauled by a pack of lions.
But these photos show the finals moments of a wounded political beast.
Captured by the photographer Martin Argles, these are outgoing PM Mr Brown's final few hours in power in the Cabinet 'war room' in Downing Street.
It's also been revealed that just minutes before he went to the palace to resign, he spoke to Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who is now Deputy PM, saying to him:
'Nick, Nick. I can't hold on any longer. Nick. I've got to go to the palace. The country expects me to do that. I have to go. The Queen expects me to go. I can't hold on any longer.'
13 years of New Labour rule ended, bringing in a Tory/Liberal Democrat coalition government.
'Nick, I can't hold on any longer': Gordon Brown's extraordinary phone call with Nick Clegg just minutes before he resigned
By Daily Mail Reporter
13th May 2010
Daily Mail
Gordon Brown told Nick Clegg that he could 'not hold on any longer' as Prime Minister because both the Queen and the country expected him to resign, it emerged today.
In an extraordinary phonecall with the Lib Dem leader just minutes before he announced he was standing down, Gordon Brown begged the Lib Dem leader to hurry up and finish his talks with the Tories because he had to go to the Palace.
'Nick, Nick. I can't hold on any longer. Nick. I've got to go to the palace,' the Prime Minister was overheard to say. 'The country expects me to do that. I have to go. The Queen expects me to go. I can't hold on any longer.'
It’s the telephone call that signals Brown’s tumultuous three years as an unelected Prime Minister is at an end. Poignantly, instead of official portraits from the government art collection, he chose to decorate his Downing Street office with more personal works of art - by his two young sons. Brown’s tense body language indicates that the call is going badly. As his fate is finally confirmed, the brooding presence of a bespectacled Alastair Campbell (Tony Blair's spin doctor) looms over him
The incredible details of Mr Brown's final few hours in power were described by the photographer who joined him in the Cabinet 'war room' in Downing Street.
The Prime Minster was surrounded by his inner circle including Ed Balls, Alistair Campbell and Peter Mandelson as they waited to hear back from Mr Clegg to say the game was up.
According to Martin Argles, the atmosphere before Mr Brown announced his resignation was 'surprisingly light-hearted but very, very tense'.
'They were all making jokes, repeating anecdotes about things that had happened, incidents on international visits such as mistaking diplomats for other people,' the Guardian photographer recalled.
'They were very light little stories that they all knew and they all obviously enjoyed.
'So they were having quite a good time laughing, which was really just to keep the tension down, I think, while we were waiting for this phone call.'
The phone call was from Nick Clegg and the entire room fell silent as they listened to the conversation.
The tension in the room is palpable. A hunched Gordon Brown is waiting for the phone call from Nick Clegg that will determine whether his audacious power-sharing offer is acceptable. Sue Nye, his longest-serving adviser, is sitting on his left. Ed Balls, Schools Secretary and his preferred successor, is standing next to him. Alastair Campbell, a former alcoholic, is drinking water
Gallows humour? Once, they were sworn enemies. But Lord Mandelson - who Brown never forgave for backing Tony Blair in the 1994 leadership contest - shares a joke just before they draft the resignation statement. Alastair Campbell, assumed to be the author of the damaging jibe that Brown was ‘psychologically flawed’, joins in the laughter with International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander and Ed Balls
After the call ended Mr Brown then said: 'Whatever happens, I am going to go to the palace.'
Mr Argles' pictures provide a fascinating insight into Mr Brown's inner sanctum and document the dying moments of the longest-serving Labour government in history.
They reveal a beleaguered Prime Minister just as he learns his gamble of a deal with the Lib Dems has failed.
The heartbreak that the rebuff has caused is clear. And the conclusive proof of the extent to which Brown had come to rely on the counsel of two men who were once his bitterest political foes - Lord Mandelson and the spin doctor Alastair Campbell - is all too apparent.
There is raw emotion as Brown bids farewell to his loyal civil servants.
Tears are shed by men and women.
And we see the proud father with his delightful young sons, who will do so much to soften the blow of his enforced departure from No10, having never won a General Election as prime minister.
Here is the human side of Brown that he had resolutely refused to let us see before. The pride in his sons John and Fraser is beyond question. It’s proof, if it were needed, that for Brown there is life after politics. His wife Sarah is clearly struggling to contain her emotions. Lord Adonis, the Transport Secretary and a former Lib Dem who was a key figure in the negotiations with Clegg, is behind Lord Mandelson and Campbell as they join in the warm applause for Brown as he says farewell for the last time
Despair and despondency hits as the news sinks in that New Labour is finished. An unusually emotional Brown is embraced by a member of his civil service team, while others sink their heads in defeat. Brown has only hours left before he leaves Downing Street for the last time. Yes, the tears are flowing . . .
Is this the hardest letter Brown has ever had to write? It’s the one welcoming David Cameron to No10. Brown and Cameron detest each other. It’s why, presumably, Alastair Campbell, who choreographed the dawn of New Labour, is there to help him sign away its end. Brown's closest political confidants Ed Balls and Douglas Alexander look on
Even the packing boxes bear all the hallmarks of New Labour’s addiction to spin. Note the cunning positioning of a photograph of African children, a souvenir from a grateful member of the Armed Forces and presumably one of his sons’ baby books. This has spinmeister Lord Mandelson’s fingerprints all over it
dailymail.co.uk
But these photos show the finals moments of a wounded political beast.
Captured by the photographer Martin Argles, these are outgoing PM Mr Brown's final few hours in power in the Cabinet 'war room' in Downing Street.
It's also been revealed that just minutes before he went to the palace to resign, he spoke to Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who is now Deputy PM, saying to him:
'Nick, Nick. I can't hold on any longer. Nick. I've got to go to the palace. The country expects me to do that. I have to go. The Queen expects me to go. I can't hold on any longer.'
13 years of New Labour rule ended, bringing in a Tory/Liberal Democrat coalition government.
'Nick, I can't hold on any longer': Gordon Brown's extraordinary phone call with Nick Clegg just minutes before he resigned
By Daily Mail Reporter
13th May 2010
Daily Mail
Gordon Brown told Nick Clegg that he could 'not hold on any longer' as Prime Minister because both the Queen and the country expected him to resign, it emerged today.
In an extraordinary phonecall with the Lib Dem leader just minutes before he announced he was standing down, Gordon Brown begged the Lib Dem leader to hurry up and finish his talks with the Tories because he had to go to the Palace.
'Nick, Nick. I can't hold on any longer. Nick. I've got to go to the palace,' the Prime Minister was overheard to say. 'The country expects me to do that. I have to go. The Queen expects me to go. I can't hold on any longer.'
It’s the telephone call that signals Brown’s tumultuous three years as an unelected Prime Minister is at an end. Poignantly, instead of official portraits from the government art collection, he chose to decorate his Downing Street office with more personal works of art - by his two young sons. Brown’s tense body language indicates that the call is going badly. As his fate is finally confirmed, the brooding presence of a bespectacled Alastair Campbell (Tony Blair's spin doctor) looms over him
The incredible details of Mr Brown's final few hours in power were described by the photographer who joined him in the Cabinet 'war room' in Downing Street.
The Prime Minster was surrounded by his inner circle including Ed Balls, Alistair Campbell and Peter Mandelson as they waited to hear back from Mr Clegg to say the game was up.
According to Martin Argles, the atmosphere before Mr Brown announced his resignation was 'surprisingly light-hearted but very, very tense'.
'They were all making jokes, repeating anecdotes about things that had happened, incidents on international visits such as mistaking diplomats for other people,' the Guardian photographer recalled.
'They were very light little stories that they all knew and they all obviously enjoyed.
'So they were having quite a good time laughing, which was really just to keep the tension down, I think, while we were waiting for this phone call.'
The phone call was from Nick Clegg and the entire room fell silent as they listened to the conversation.
The tension in the room is palpable. A hunched Gordon Brown is waiting for the phone call from Nick Clegg that will determine whether his audacious power-sharing offer is acceptable. Sue Nye, his longest-serving adviser, is sitting on his left. Ed Balls, Schools Secretary and his preferred successor, is standing next to him. Alastair Campbell, a former alcoholic, is drinking water
Gallows humour? Once, they were sworn enemies. But Lord Mandelson - who Brown never forgave for backing Tony Blair in the 1994 leadership contest - shares a joke just before they draft the resignation statement. Alastair Campbell, assumed to be the author of the damaging jibe that Brown was ‘psychologically flawed’, joins in the laughter with International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander and Ed Balls
After the call ended Mr Brown then said: 'Whatever happens, I am going to go to the palace.'
Mr Argles' pictures provide a fascinating insight into Mr Brown's inner sanctum and document the dying moments of the longest-serving Labour government in history.
They reveal a beleaguered Prime Minister just as he learns his gamble of a deal with the Lib Dems has failed.
The heartbreak that the rebuff has caused is clear. And the conclusive proof of the extent to which Brown had come to rely on the counsel of two men who were once his bitterest political foes - Lord Mandelson and the spin doctor Alastair Campbell - is all too apparent.
There is raw emotion as Brown bids farewell to his loyal civil servants.
Tears are shed by men and women.
And we see the proud father with his delightful young sons, who will do so much to soften the blow of his enforced departure from No10, having never won a General Election as prime minister.
Here is the human side of Brown that he had resolutely refused to let us see before. The pride in his sons John and Fraser is beyond question. It’s proof, if it were needed, that for Brown there is life after politics. His wife Sarah is clearly struggling to contain her emotions. Lord Adonis, the Transport Secretary and a former Lib Dem who was a key figure in the negotiations with Clegg, is behind Lord Mandelson and Campbell as they join in the warm applause for Brown as he says farewell for the last time
Despair and despondency hits as the news sinks in that New Labour is finished. An unusually emotional Brown is embraced by a member of his civil service team, while others sink their heads in defeat. Brown has only hours left before he leaves Downing Street for the last time. Yes, the tears are flowing . . .
Even the packing boxes bear all the hallmarks of New Labour’s addiction to spin. Note the cunning positioning of a photograph of African children, a souvenir from a grateful member of the Armed Forces and presumably one of his sons’ baby books. This has spinmeister Lord Mandelson’s fingerprints all over it
dailymail.co.uk
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