British Prime Minister Gordon Brown went to the home of a voter he called a bigoted woman to apologize for his unguarded remarks. The premier's comments were caught on a microphone as he was driven away in his prime ministerial limousine, shortly after the former Labour voter asked a series of testing subjects on immigration, the economy, and education. In a damage limitation exercise Brown was driven to the house of widow Gillian Duffy, 66, in the northern English town of Rochdale to tell her to tell her that he was sorry. Emerging after a meeting lasting 39 minutes, Brown told waiting journalists that she had accepted his apology whereas Duffy refused media invitations to confirm this. Brown told reporters he had misunderstood the former council worker's remarks. Brown is trailing in third place in some polls and battling to secure his party's core vote. His comments came during a visit designed to bring him into closer contact with the broader public rather than carefully staged party meetings. Labour, which has closed the opposition Conservatives' lead in the opinion polls over the last few months, had high hopes for this week's campaigning, which centres around Thursday's (April 29) economy focused television debate.The election takes place on May 6.
