Brown cont

‘He said, “You do know my father was a Presbyterian minister and I was brought up with family values.”

‘I told him that my family had worked hard all our lives.

‘My brother was a bricklayer. My father was a window-cleaner, my husband was a painter and decorator and they were both strong union men. I worked in the council education department for 30 years, as a supervisor and escorting disabled children to and from school, looking after them.

‘None of us have ever been in any trouble. And all of us have had to work all our lives and this country’s fetched up a generation of people who won’t work.

‘Well, he just said, “I’m so sorry – please take my apology.”

‘I said, “You know, Gordon, my father was a very politically minded man and very argumentative. He upset a lot of people and he would say to me, “Don’t worry about it, Gillian, you can always say sorry.” I told him, “No, Dad, it doesn’t work like that, sorry is a very easy word.”

‘I said, “I’m sorry for you, Gordon, because you have more to lose than me. I’m very sorry that this has happened but it’s you who’s going to lose out not me.”’

If there were a point where Mr Brown realised that this was not going to be an easy ‘in and out’ visit that was probably it. He looked at the 65-year-old earnestly blinking at him through her spectacles and tried a different strategy: ‘Have you met Sarah?’ he asked.

Even as she recounts this today, Gillian looks bewildered by the shift in conversation. ‘Well, how would I have met his wife?’ she says sensibly.

‘He spoke a lot about Sarah. He said she was a good woman and he asked whether I knew he had two lads and I said yes. Well, I knew he had two children, I didn’t know they were both lads.

‘Then he asked, “Do you ever come down to London?” And said, “If you ever come down you must come to No10 and meet me and Sarah.”

‘Well, I just looked at him. I didn’t like to say it, but all I could think was, “I don’t think you’ll be there.”’

Besides, Gillian didn’t want to exchange awkward small-talk with the Prime Minister, she wanted to talk to him about the things that matter. She raised the subject which had sparked the whole saga in the first place:

‘I said to him, “What are you going to do about the debt, Gordon? Greece is down and now Spain and Portugal have lost their credit rating. Who’s next?” I’m going on holiday to Canada and I used to get $2.50 to the £1. When I go to change my currency this time I’ll be lucky if I get $1.50

On holiday in Margate as a young girl with mother Nellie and father Walter (right) and other family members