Blair’s memoirs to hit the stands in September

UK prime minister Tony Blair

When former UK prime minister Tony Blair put off his memoirs until after the elections, it was believed that he would bare it all in describing his turbulent relationship with Gordon Brown.

However, political observers say the former prime minister's account of his tenure in office may leave those who may be eagerly looking forward to a ringside view of the tiffs in the Blair - Brown tango disappointed.

Blair will earn £4.6 million from his book, The Journey, which is expected to hit the stands in September according to his publishers' announcement yesterday.

Though the hype from his publisher does seem to promise all the politically juicy stuff given the book will chart "successes, controversies and disappointments with an extraordinary candour", Blair's friends say he would refrain from inflicting the unkindest cut on his successor. They say that was not his style as PM and neither is it his style now.

That would be a relief to Brown, given that recent opinion polls give him a chance to be still in power when the much-awaited Blair memoirs finally emerge.

But the timing of Blair's book could still pose some problems for the prime minister, expected just before Labour's post-election annual conference. If the general elections throw up a hung parliament, Britain might have to go in for a second general election later in the year, in which case Blair might have to ask his publishers to delay the book.