Miliband Invites Milburn to be his Chancellor in Astonishing Oust Plot

The Foreign Secretary has held private talks with the "ultra Blairite" former health secretary about taking a senior role in a Miliband Government.

In a sign that his plans to become Labour leader are at an advanced stage, Mr Miliband has told friends that Mr Milburn, a hate figure for many of Mr Brown's allies, would play a central role in trying to revive the Government's fortunes.

Mr Milburn, a former Health Secretary who has been critical of Mr Brown's leadership, is understood to have told Mr Miliband he would be happy to accept the Treasury.

Mr Miliband has emerged as a potential challenger to Mr Brown's fragile authority after last week outlining his personal manifesto for reviving Labour and repeatedly refusing to rule out a bid to oust the Prime Minister.

The revelation of Mr Milburn's agreement with Mr Miliband is likely to infuriate Mr Brown.

It is the clearest sign yet of how advanced the Foreign Secretary's plans are, despite his public claims that he is not running a leadership campaign.