Daily Express Headline; says: 'Gordon Brown is due to face the media in his first regular press conference as Prime Minister, while riding high in the polls amid speculation he may be considering an early General Election. The conference at 10 Downing Street - expected to last about an hour - will provide a further test of Mr Brown's ability to handle a sustained grilling covering all parts of the policy agenda.
His predecessor Tony Blair, who introduced the routine of monthly interrogations by the press, was renowned for his mastery of his wide-ranging brief and his sure-footed confidence in dealing with the most awkward questions.But critics of Mr Brown have claimed that his appearances so far at Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons betray a measure of uncertainty when he is called upon to stray off his favoured economic topics.
He will certainly face questions about the official response to flooding across the Midlands and the North of England - including accusations that too little was done to prepare for the torrential downpours of the last two months.And he is likely to be asked about his plans to build thousands of new homes, to be spelt out in greater detail in a Housing Green Paper.
