UK’s prime minister reveals he has 2 minor tears in his retina, but no surgery planned

UK’s Brown reveals he has 2 retina tears

LONDON — Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown disclosed Saturday that an eye examination showed two tears in the retina of his eye — a revelation that could embolden critics who want him to step down before a national election.

Downing Street moved quickly to quash speculation over Brown’s health, issuing the statement only one day after a regular examination at a London eye hospital. Brown’s office said his eyesight remained unchanged and that no operations were planned to address the situation.

“Were there to be any change, he would of course make a further statement,” his office said in a statement.

Brown, who lost the use of one eye in a sporting accident when he was a teenager, has been dogged by questions about his eyesight in recent months.

During a visit to the United States for the G-20 summit, he was forced to deny that he was slowly going blind.

NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams had questioned Brown over reports that he was using larger and larger text sizes as his remaining vision declined.

“I had all sorts of operations,” Brown said during the September interview. “I then had one operation on the other eye and that was very successful so my sight is not at all deteriorating,” he said.

The September comments came as former Home Secretary Charles Clarke told the London Evening Standard newspaper that he hoped rumors Brown would quit — perhaps on health grounds — would come true.

Brown must call a general election by June of next year. Recent polls overwhelmingly suggest that the opposition Conservative Party will win after 13 years out of power.