The British Home Secretary Mr David Blunkett has resigned following a series of newspaper claims that he fast-tracked a visa for a nanny working for his former-lover.
Although Mr Blunkett denies the claims he has faced increasing pressure in recent days from members of his own party.
And his position was not helped by his criticisms of Cabinet colleagues in a new biography. Mr Blunkett said he was resigning with "enormous regret".
Mr Blunkett insisted tonight he had done nothing wrong even as he resigned. He predicted he would be cleared by Sir Alan Budd of fast-tracking the visa application of his former lover's nanny.
But he said he still had to go to protect the integrity of the Prime Minister. "The thousands of people who wrote to me and rang me and e-mailed me believed in my honesty and integrity," he said.
"And that, above all, is critical not just to me but also for the integrity of Tony Blair who has backed me to the hilt."
Mr Blunkett was seen as crucial to Mr Blair's centre-left government, in charge of security and anti-terrorism policies.
Mr Blunkett , blind since birth and routinely accompanied by his guide dog Sadie at the House of Commons, has failed to escape the media spotlight following comments he made about a
raft of ministers in a biography.
He said Foreign Secretary Mr Jack Straw had left the Home Office in a mess and called other ministers "soft" and "weak".