Brown admits he should have become British PM in 1997

London, Feb. 12 (ANI): British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has admitted for the first time that it was he who should have become premier in 1997 and not Tony Blair, as he had the experience and skills to lead the country.

"I believed I could do the job, I believed that I'd got the experience and built up the experience to do it," The Telegraph quoted Brown, as saying in an interview with ITV.

Blair had been the junior of the two men in 1994 and yet Brown stood aside after former leader John Smith's death.

Brown, who admitted that his predecessor had struck a secret deal with him to take over as premier, also revealed that he and Blair had fights during Labour's first 10 years in office.

For years the two men denied that they were at loggerheads.

"I don't deny that, that there were fights about different issues but it's always the case. In fact it's better to be open and honest and say there were disagreements about certain things but at the same time we managed, I think in the national interest, to get, to get things sorted out," he said.

The disclosures come in a very personal interview in which Brown talks about his student life, alcohol, his wife Sarah and their children. Brown also speaks movingly about the death of his daughter and his son's illness.

His advisers, including Alastair Campbell, think that the public needs to see the "real" Brown ahead of the election.

They also hope that the prime-time show, with its soft-focus and friendly interviewer, will help him appeal to women.

His wife Sarah watched the show, which will go out on Valentine's Day, from the front row of the audience. (ANI)