National: Another bad week for Brown as his authority is challenged on all sides: With a defeat on Gurkhas, a U-turn on expenses, and criticism from former Labour ministers, the PM needed to be able to turn to a loyalist bruiser at home to keep his policies on the rails while he was on a foreign tour

Byline: Patrick Wintour, Allegra Stratton Prime ministers are famously supposed to be able to chew gum and walk at the same time, but when you are flying over the Hindu [...]