British Home Secretary Mr David Blunkett last night asked for an independent review of claims that he misused his office and fast-tracked a visa for the Filipina nanny of his former lover, writes Frank Millar in London
The politically damaging charge came amid increasingly public warfare between Mr Blunkett and Mrs Kimberley Quinn - the married American with whom he had a secret three-year affair - following the Home Secretary's threat to use the law to prove he is the father of Mrs Quinn's two-year-old son, William, and also of the second child she is expecting in two months.
Her husband, the multimillionaire Condé Nast publisher, Mr Stephen Quinn (60), from Co Kilkenny, was reported yesterday as saying he had forgiven her infidelity.
"Friends" of Mrs Quinn were quoted in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph as saying she believes "his [Mr Blunkett's] obsession is with her, not the child" - and that she suspects Mr Blunkett himself might have tipped off the News of the World about their affair just days after she told him their relationship was over earlier this year.
Mr Blunkett had attempted to hold to his dignity in the face of a string of allegations that he misused his office to grant Mrs Quinn favours - including the alleged use of first-class rail tickets assigned to him as an MP for use by his "spouse"; using his ministerial car to chauffeur her to his holiday home; and using his influence to obtain a speedy American visa for William to enable him to join the couple on a holiday to France.
In a statement on Saturday night the Home Secretary said he was "very saddened that someone I cared so deeply for should seek, quite erroneously, to damage my public position." And he insisted he would "continue to keep my private life private and separate from my public duties."
However, despite Downing Street declaring Mr Blunkett enjoyed the "full confidence" of the Prime Minister, the Home Secretary was forced to move last night after the Conservatives had demanded a judicial inquiry into the alleged fast-tracking of the visa for the former nanny, Ms Leoncia "Luz" Casalme, who has since left Mrs Quinn's employment. The allegation was contained in an email written by Mrs Quinn last week and, if proven to be true, would result in Mr Blunkett's resignation or dismissal from the Cabinet.
In his statement last night, Mr Blunkett said he had decided to request an independent review of the allegations: "I regret the time and resources needed to undertake this, but in the light of the flagrant attempt to link my public position with the deeply personal circumstances of my private life, I believe on this specific occasion it is right to lay this accusation to rest."