Gordon Brown: any Labour briefings against Alistair Darling were unfair

Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling in London in 2010. Brown praised Darling on Friday for his role in shoring up the British economy after the 2008 financial crash. Photograph: Toby Melville/PA

Gordon Brown has said any briefings against his then chancellor, Alistair Darling, in 2008 were “completely unfair”, as he acknowledged the complicated relationship that existed between the two men in the final years of the Labour government.

Brown paid tribute to Darling after his death this week, calling him a man of “integrity” and “wise judgment”.