EXETER MP Ben Bradshaw has refused to comment on memoirs released by former Prime Minister Tony Blair but said he "looks forward to reading them".

Mr Blair's memoirs, A Journey, released yesterday, give his account for the first time of the tumultuous relationship with Gordon Brown, while they were Prime Minister and Chancellor from 1997 to 2007.

Describing one row, he said Mr Brown threatened to trigger a Labour investigation into cash-for-honours allegations if Mr Blair did not agree to drop plans to reform the state pension.

In the book, Mr Blair described his colleague as a "strange guy" who, while he had "enormous ability", had "no instinct at the human, gut level".

He added: "Political calculation, yes. Political feelings, no. Analytical intelligence, absolutely. Emotional intelligence, zero."

But he said it would have been "well-nigh impossible" to stop Mr Brown taking over 10 Downing Street.

Mr Blair argued that, had he sacked or demoted the Chancellor, "the party and the Government would have been severely and immediately destabilised and his ascent to the office of Prime Minister would probably have been even faster".

He said he did not sack him because he believed "he was the best Chancellor for the country" and was "head and shoulders" above other candidates. Mr Blair also reveals his "anguish" over UK deaths in the Iraq war.

Mr Bradshaw said in a statement: "I'm looking forward very much to reading the account, in his own words, of Labour's most successful leader ever and someone who changed Britain massively for the better.

"Unlike some previous Prime Ministers, Tony has behaved impeccably since leaving office and his decision to donate the proceeds from the book to charity is entirely in character."