LONDON (BBC) -- Tony Blair has said he expects "in all probability" that Chancellor Gordon Brown will succeed him as prime minister "in the next few weeks".

Blair says he will announce his resignation next week, after which he will stay as PM for about seven weeks until Labour chooses his successor.

He has so far refused to formally endorse Brown as his successor.

He made his prediction while campaigning in Scotland on the 10th anniversary of being elected to power.

Brown, who helped create New Labour with Blair, is not now expected to face a high level challenge for the leadership. Mr Blair has said he will leave No 10 by September, but there has been speculation about the precise timing of his departure. He moved to dampen such speculation earlier on Tuesday by saying on GMTV: "I'll make my position clear next week, I'll say something definitive then." Stormy relationship

There had been predictions he would use his 10th anniversary to announce he was stepping down. We were perhaps too ready to place emphasis on our management of the media in those early years of government

Send us your comments But he used an election rally instead to suggest Brown would be his successor within a matter of weeks.

He told party workers: "In all probability a Scot will become PM of the United Kingdom, someone who has built our economy into one of the strongest in the world, and who, as I have said many times before, would make a great PM for Britain." Speculation about the precise timing of Blair's resignation statement is now focused on Wednesday or Thursday next week, after the planned resumption of power sharing in Northern Ireland - seen as one of the biggest achievements of Blair's time in office.

Blair would not be drawn on which day next week, which includes a Bank Holiday Monday, the statement would be made.

According to press reports, Blair will use his retirement announcement to formally endorse Brown's leadership bid - in a final act of reconciliation with the chancellor, with whom he has enjoyed a stormy relationship.

Brown has, meanwhile, heaped praise on Blair in an article to mark his 10 years in power. Writing in The Sun newspaper, Brown said he was "honored" to call Blair his "oldest friend in politics", while admitting there had been "ups and downs" along the way. Coronation

He praises Blair for standing shoulder to shoulder with America after the September 11 attacks, for bringing the 2012 Olympics to London, his role in the Northern Ireland peace process and his handling of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

And - in a further sign of an impending Brown coronation - EU Trade Commissioner and key Blair ally Peter Mandelson predicted the chancellor would succeed Blair in Number 10.

"In all probability, Gordon Brown will follow Tony Blair. He will now have been able to fulfilL his ambition and his desire to lead the party and be prime minister," he said.

But Mandelson said it was up to Labour Party members to decide the future direction of the party. "It's up to the party to decide whether it wants to be New Labour and build on what we've done and to create a new New Labour." Media management

Mandelson, who was one of the key architects of New Labour, also admitted the party focused too much on media management during its first years in office. The former Northern Ireland secretary said it was not until late in the first term that Mr Blair concentrated more on policies. "We were perhaps too ready to place emphasis on our management of the media in those early years of government, rather than concentrate on a more policy driven process," said Mandelson. He added: "I acknowledge it, but I think it was put right after the first few years."

Blair will continue to be prime minister until a new Labour leader is elected, which is expected to happen at the end of June. The prospect of a Cabinet-level challenge to Brown has all but disappeared but he could still face a contest with either John McDonnell or Michael Meacher from the left of the party.