Brown's moves may come next week after the Labor Party finishes its party conference, unnamed sources told The Times of London. In the meantime, the newspaper said, Brown was preparing to go over the heads of his critics in the party and Parliament to appeal directly to voters in a major speech Tuesday at the conference.

The prime minister will attempt to "reintroduce" himself to the public in the speech, revealing more about himself as a person as he attempts to fight back against mounting political pressure in the face of Labor's dismal polling numbers, The Times said.

Political handicappers said, however, that Brown's position is tricky because any moves to sack ministers considered close to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, such as Business Secretary John Hutton, could backfire.

In the conference's first full day Sunday, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, considered a front-runner to succeed Brown, avoided direct criticism of the incumbent, The Times said.