MID Beds Tory MP Nadine Dorries could soon be facing Prime Minister Gordon Brown in a court room and not the House of Commons. Ms Dorries is poised to issue writs against the Prime Minister s former spin doctor Damian McBride, Labour activist Derek Draper

MID Beds Tory MP Nadine Dorries could soon be facing Prime Minister Gordon Brown in a court room and not the House of Commons.

Ms Dorries is poised to issue writs against the Prime Minister's former spin doctor Damian McBride, Labour activist Derek Draper and Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell over email smears.

The legal move raises the prospect of Mr Brown being summoned to court to give evidence.

Mr McBride resigned after it emerged he had drafted a series of fictional smears against a number of Tory MPs, including Ms Dorries, Tory leader David Cameron and George Osborne.

The emails were to be sent to the left-wing gossip website Red Flag and emailed to Mr Draper who later quit as its editor.

Ms Dorries was furious when the emails began to circulate and had always threatened legal action against those she alleged were responsible.

This week all she would say was: "I have instructed a solicitor and legal proceedings are going to start. I've been advised I can't say anything else."

The court case is seen as a way to force those who have been named as responsible for the emails to disclose more information about why they were written and how much Gordon Brown actually knew of their existence.

The email concerning Ms Dorries related a fictional story about her and another unnamed Tory MP.

Mr Brown later apologised personally to Ms Dorries when she confronted him during Prime Minister's questions.