London, July 29 (PTI): British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wanted to appoint his former confidante at the Treasury, Shriti Vadera, as a senior adviser at Number 10, but was overruled by cabinet secretary Sir Gus ’Donnell, media reports today said.

’Donnell was previously permanent secretary to the Treasury, from where Vadera took a long trip to India to enable personal clashes in the department to be resolved.

After ’Donnell’s apparent intervention, Brown gave “Shriti the shriek” a peerage and made her a junior minister at the department for international development.

Baroness Vadera of Holland Park, who was born in Uganda but grew up in India, is known for her determined manner.

A cabinet office spokesperson, however, insisted that ’Donnell had no “objections of that kind” to Vadera’s appointment.