A Labour Party aide stepped in to calm the No. 10 bullying row this morning, announcing that the Prime Minister was "focussed, sometimes impatient, but overall, a joy to work for".
The weekend has seen a spate of stories referring to incidents of foul language, abusive behaviour and violence within the Prime Ministerial Offices, which- whilst hotly denied by party officials- have been confirmed by numerous sources outside government.
A former parliamentary private secretary, speaking on condition of anonymity, described one such encounter with the prime minister.
"He [Brown] grabbed me by the lapels, spat in my face, drove a knee into my groin and bellowed 'How do you like that, you big nancy?'", he claimed.
"He was known for sudden rages- beating people with photocopiers, slapping them about with left-wing pamphlets or manifestos on the role of the collective oligarchy. He even took this one quiet middle-aged guy and made him Chancellor, just to watch him squirm. He goes around with this big, slow guy called Balls, and between them they terrify anyone they come across."
"Oi, Darling! Balls says you're one of these!"
-Prime Minister Gordon Brown
However, a less fearsome picture of the Prime Minister was painted by a close colleague.
"Gordon's a quiet bloke, but he does have a wee temper at times. The other day, someone pointed out that a crippling level of national debt wasn't what politicians usually meant when they talked about leaving a legacy. Well, Gordon looked straight at him and suffled some papers noisily, clearly signalling his displeasure"
The colleague continued: "That's a rare example of him really losing it. Normally he just sits in his office happily prioritising initiatives and discussing policy matters. You'll often find him chatting easily with staff- of whatever seniority- just like a really normal, not at all psychotic person, who is on no kind of heavy medication whatsoever."