YOU know you’re in trouble as Prime Minister when Cabinet colleagues have to rush out statements insisting they still have complete faith in you.

It’s like a football manager receiving the dreaded vote of confidence from his chairman. It’s meaningless (unless the chairman happens to be Steve Gibson).

However it is presented, Gordon Brown is in trouble. His authority has been dangerously eroded by the Government’s inept handling of controversies over MPs’ expenses and the rights of Gurkhas to live in Britain.

There is increasingly loud talk of a leadership challenge and that kind of momentum is hard to stop.

It doesn’t help when Cabinet colleagues like Hazel Blears further undermine Mr Brown’s authority by writing damning newspaper articles.

In The Observer yesterday, the Communities Secretary said the public did not believe many Government policy announcements. She’s right but, to be fair, that isn’t something new to Mr Brown’s administration.

Ms Blears accepted that ministers have a collective responsibility for the Government’s “lamentable failure” to get its message across.

But in a clear swipe at Mr Brown’s use of YouTube to announce proposed changes to MPs’ expenses, she said: “Promote your message via YouTube if you want to. But it is no substitute for knocking on doors or setting up a stall in the town centre.”

Ms Blears later released a statement insisting she did not mean to criticise the Prime Minister and was surprised that her article had been interpreted as an attack on him. How laughable is that?

Oh yes, the knives are out for Gordon Brown.