David Miliband has backed Gordon Brown after provoking speculation by calling for "real change" in the Labour party.

The Foreign Secretary was forced to deny he had launched a de facto leadership campaign after writing a newspaper article outlining his vision for Labour's future - with no reference to the embattled Prime Minister.

He wrote: "New Labour won three elections by offering real change, not just in policy but in the way we do politics.

"We must do so again. So let's stop feeling sorry for ourselves, enjoy a break, and then find the confidence to make our case afresh."

Speaking alongside the Italian foreign minister at a press conference in London later, Mr Miliband said: "Gordon Brown is the leader of the Labour Party and he will lead us forward to address the big issues.

"Can Gordon lead us into the next election and win? Yes, I'm absolutely certain about that."

He refused to rule himself out of any future leadership contest but he added: "I'm not campaigning for anything other than a successful Labour Government."

Mr Miliband said the piece had been a response to "fatalism" among Labour MPs and the media over the party's General Election prospects in the wake of the disastrous Glasgow East by-election defeat.

He added: "I think that my article today was a challenge to David Cameron and not a challenge to Gordon Brown."

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