Brown: I'm not slick but I'll fight and fight

Gordon Brown has admitted he is not "slick" and could be too serious - but vowed he would "fight and fight and fight".

In a personal message to Labour activists in his Scottish constituency, the Prime Minister sought to make a virtue of the contrasts drawn between himself and Tory leader David Cameron.

"I have been accused of being too serious, too focused on policy and sometimes too impatient," he said, in a rare acknowledgement of some of the criticism he has attracted as a leader.

"I plead guilty. I am serious and focused and impatient, because when people's jobs and businesses and life savings are on the line, it's not a time for small talk. I realise I am not slick and the honest truth is I don't really want to be."

Mr Brown's words came as he returned to his Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency at the end of the week in which he announced the General Election campaign.

The Prime Minister's campaigning has so far been relatively low-key, not venturing beyond the South East before this evening and concentrating on personal contact in smaller gatherings.