Plan B Forum

In an interview on Sky News this morning, Mr Rudd said the video was embarrassing but his frustration was directed at himself and no one else.

‘‘Anyone who’s got a touch of suspicion about them would say that if this was done, somewhat embarrassingly, a couple of years ago, and it suddenly emerges now, then obviously it’s a little bit on the unusual side,’’ Mr Rudd told Sky News.

"But these are questions for others.

‘‘But the bottom line here is, I accept responsibility for what occurred. I’m not about to point the finger at others.’’

He said the video was from one of a number of speeches he recorded from time to time for Chinese community occasions, and was probably done in a reception room next to the prime minister’s office ‘‘a couple of years ago’’.

‘‘You’d sit down and try and get the script right. Obviously I wasn’t getting it right on this occasion and was getting pretty frustrated about it.’’

Mr Rudd said it was no secret that he did often swear. ‘‘I’ve never pretended not to swear from time to time. That’s been out there for a long, long time. I wish I’d sweared (sic) less but that’s just the truth of it.’’

Asked whether he wanted his old job as prime minister back, Mr Rudd said "There's no challenge ... on."

As the video drew national and international attention yesterday, a Labor insider said it could only have come from the Prime Minister's office, which stores such clips. If true, that would suggest a bitter escalation of the leadership crisis between Ms Gillard and the Foreign Affairs Minister.

The heavily edited clip features Mr Rudd angrily hitting his desk and demanding the ''dickheads at the embassy'' give him simple sentences.

''Don't have the f---ing patience to do it … This is f---ing Chinese interpreter up again … Ohh … just f---in' hopeless,'' Mr Rudd says.

A spokesman for Ms Gillard said it was ''ridiculous'' to imply the tape came from her office



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political ... z1mnC7EYxB

A spokesman for Ms Gillard said it was ''ridiculous'' to imply the tape came from her office