Prime Minister praises 'inspirational' Burke

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has written a letter of praise to Alexandra Burke's mother.

The special message was sent to congratulate the family on Burke's X Factor win.

"I wanted to add my congratulations to you and all your family on Alexandra's wonderful achievement in winning the X Factor final and on what is sure to be an incredibly successful debut single," Brown wrote in the letter.

The letter praised Burke's mother, Melissa Bell, on being an "inspiration" and commended the "determination shown by Alexandra to come back from her disappointment in 2005 to achieve her success this year".

Bell, a former singer with Soul II Soul, said she was overwhelmed when she received the letter.

"When I saw it had Prime Minister on it I nearly passed out. It's such an honour. He said Alex must have got her talent from me."

Burke is expected to take the Christmas number one with her debut single 'Hallelujah' after the song sold more downloads in two days than previous winner Leona Lewis managed in a week.