LORD LEVY, Labour’s former chief fundraiser, is refusing to show his memoirs to the Cabinet Office censor, even though the book is expected to contain an attack on Gordon Brown.

Levy will publish a “warts and all” account of life as a government and party adviser this autumn.

Friends say that Levy, a close ally of Tony Blair who has made little secret of his enmity for Brown, is “planning to leave nothing out”.

All former government officials are usually required to submit manuscripts to a special Cabinet Office committee which has the power to cut extracts that contravene the Official Secrets Act.

However, because Levy was never on the government payroll (his jobs as a Middle East envoy and adviser on city academies were unpaid), the censor has no power to force him to hand over the book.

A friend of Levy’s added: “Michael is not planning to break the Official Secrets Act so doesn’t see why anyone in government should see his book.”

Previous memoirs by Labour insiders such as Alastair Camp-bell, or former spin doctor Lance Price, faced substantial cuts at the hands of the official censor.

Levy, 63, who was last year arrested (but never charged) as part of the police investigation into the “cash for honours” inquiry has signed a six-figure contract with Simon & Schuster, the publishing house.

The book by the former pop music impresario, who was dubbed “Lord Cashpoint” because of his ability to extract donations from businessmen, will not be the only political blockbuster of the 2008 political conference season.

Cherie Blair will also publish her memoirs in the autumn. It is understood that she, too, is refusing to show her manuscript to the Cabinet Office.

Levy had access to the highest reaches of government until Blair’s departure last year and kept detailed notes of his conversations.

As well as detailing the ill-tempered arguments between Blair and Brown, Levy may also shed light on the two men’s secret funding arrangements before 1997. Both Blair and Brown benefited from blind trusts that funded their office costs during the days in opposition To this day the full list of businessmen who contributed to the funds has never been revealed.

A confidant of the former fundraiser said: “Michael loved Tony right to the end but he always thought Gordon was strange and antagonistic.

“Part of the purpose of the book is to set the record straight as he sees it over the cash for peerages scandal. But he also wants to settle some scores with the Brownites.”

A source close to Levy added: “Gordon will play his part in the book.”

No 10 is understandably nervous that it will not have prior warning of the contents of the Levy and Cherie Blair books. However, a senior Downing Street official said: “We shall not attempt to put pressure on them. It will only make a delicate situation worse.”

Blair has always told friends that he would wait until Brown had left office before publishing his own memoirs. He is thought to have been disappointed that his wife has instead chosen to rush into print.

Levy, according to publishing sources, has written only about three chapters of his book but is confident that he can meet the publisher’s September deadline. The early chapters will deal with his life growing up in Hackney, east London, the son of Jewish immigrants, and his pop career as the manager of Alvin Stardust.

Times Recommends

• Should Knox’s trial even have reached the courtroom?
• All that glitters is not sold in Wright’s world
• Believe it or not, Big Brother is your friend