SALFORD MP Hazel Blears' future in the cabinet is in doubt after she stood in the wings at Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons.

Local government secretary Ms Blears arrived late for question time and did not sit on the government front bench.

She is reportedly facing the axe when Gordon Brown reshuffles his cabinet this summer - along with Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.

Ms Blears - whose hobbies include riding motorbikes and tap dancing - hit the headlines this week for attacking the prime minister's appearance on YouTube to announce his ill-fated plans to scrap some MPs' expenses.

She also claimed the government's efforts to get its message across had been `lamentable'.

Credibility

Tory MPs used her words as the basis for an attempt to undermine Gordon Brown's credibility.

They also pointed to the fact that Ms Blears' fellow cabinet ministers - James Purnell, MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, and Andy Burnham, MP for Leigh - left secret documents on a train.

And they poured further scorn on former deputy premier John Prescott's public impression of Les Dawson, and the home secretary's various expenses claims - including one for adult videos watched by her husband.

Ms Blears, a former Tony Blair supporter, took centre stage in the Commons as the political drama unfolded.

She looked embarrassed as Tory leader David Cameron quoted at length from the article she wrote in The Observer.

Mr Cameron said the prime minister was now isolated in the cabinet.

"He's the only one who thinks he's any good," said Mr Cameron. "No one doubts he might have come into politics for the right reasons, but isn't it clear he's just not up to the job?"

Mr Brown relied on suggesting the Conservative leader was too concerned with personalities and had nothing to say on the big issues of the day. There was little response from Labour backbenchers.

The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, also suggested that Mr Brown was `not up to the job'.

The Tories suggested that the only answer was for Mr Brown to call an election - echoes of last October, when Mr Brown faced similar criticism from some Labour MPs.

He now faces another revolt over plans to part-privatise the Royal Mail, as well a potential hammering at the European elections in June.

If those turn out to be disastrous for Labour, his leadership, as the government approaches a general election early next year, is bound to be under scrutiny.