John Prescott revealed today that he challenged Gordon Brown to quit as Chancellor over Tony Blair's broken promises to make way for him as Prime Minister.

In his autobiography the former Deputy Prime Minister said that he believed that Mr Brown had considered resigning but pulled back because of the "possible consequences".

Mr Prescott said that he had also told Mr Blair that he should sack Mr Brown if he could no longer tolerate his behaviour, but Mr Blair also drew back as he knew it would tear Labour apart.

Mr Prescott's book throws fresh light on the turbulent relationship between the two men in the years before Mr Blair finally stood down last year.

It comes as Mr Blair's wife Cherie disclosed in her autobiography that Mr Blair would have stood down before the 2005 general election if Mr Brown had been prepared to back his reforms on foundation hospitals and city academies.

Mr Prescott said that he had spent much of his time in Government acting as a conciliator between the two men, with "hundreds" of phone calls and meetings dealing with "Blair-Brown issues".

He said that Mr Blair had repeatedly reneged on promises to make make way for Mr Brown. Each time he needed his Chancellor's support on a particular issue, he would adopt the same tactics.

"He was definitely going in, er, six months, perhaps a year, certainly before the next election. When it never happened, Gordon was furious and the whole cycle began again," he said.

He described one occasion when Mr Brown was "even more furious than usual" with Mr Blair.

"I said to him 'If this is how you feel, that you've been misled once again, resign.' I think he thought about it, but it never came to that. He was aware of the possible consequences," he said.

"With Tony, when he was moaning on about Gordon's behaviour, I'd say 'Sack him. Find a new Chancellor if that's how you really feel.' But neither could take the final step.

"They were caught in their own trap. Tony knew that sacking Gordon would tear the party apart."

In an interview with the paper, Mr Prescott described just how explosive some of the encounters between the two men could be.

"Gordon could go off like a volcano, but Tony doesn't like the full-frontal approach. It puts him off his tea," he said.

Mr Prescott said that he believed the tensions between them stemmed from "a deep and personal connection", as well as shared political analysis and insights.

He described one meeting he attended with Mr Blair, Mr Brown and Peter Mandelson - another key architect of New Labour.

"What struck me was how those three behaved like robots in a science fiction movie in which they needed to download from each other," he said.

Mr Prescott also revealed some of the tensions in his own relationship with Mr Blair, calling him a "little shit" on one occasion when he discovered that he had been excluded from a key strategy meeting.

Mr Prescott said that he had considered resigning after his affair with his diary secretary Tracey Temple was discovered by the press, but was dissuaded from doing so by his wife, Pauline.

"A huge load of crap was going to fall on my head, so it would be better all round if I resigned now. The press had me in a corner," he said.

"Pauline said: 'No. It's the coward's way out. It's going to happen to you whether you resign now or not."' Today Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he did not recognise the portrait set out in Mr Prescott's book, although he had not read it as he did not "do book reviews".

He dismissed what he said was "political chatter" over the past "four or five weeks", but said: "We have got to get on with the job and the job is putting in place genuine changes in our society."

And he disagreed with the book's description of the Prime Minister as "frustrating, annoying, bewildering and prickly".

Speaking on BBC1's The Politics Show he said: "I work with Gordon Brown most days of the week, he is someone who is absolutely passionate about the values that he believes in.

"He is clear about the goals we are pursuing and yes, as he said, he does get into the detail but that is important.

"You need a Prime Minister who is able to have command of the detail as well as the bigger picture.

"I don't recognise the portrait that John has set out. That is why the Government has to get on with the job.

"What is fatal in politics is if you forget what you are meant to be doing, which is working on behalf of the people who elected you."