Friends of embattled Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell insisted today she had not split with her husband, linked to a Italian corruption inquiry, to save her political career.
Ms Jowell and her tax lawyer husband David Mills announced yesterday they had agreed a "period of separation" after the strain of probes into their financial affairs.
Last week Ms Jowell, a close ally of Prime Minister Tony Blair, survived an inquiry into whether she had broken the ministerial code of conduct over money received by her husband and used to repay a home mortgage.
Magistrates in Italy are investigating whether Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi bribed Mr Mills to give favourable evidence in a corruption probe, something both Mr Berlusconi and Mr Mills deny.
Cabinet minister David Miliband told BBC's Sunday AM programme it was "grotesque" to suggest the separation was motivated by political considerations.
"The love and commitment that they've had to each other is deep and the anguish that they must be going through is dreadful," Mr Miliband said.
Labour peer Baroness Jay, a close friend of Jowell, said marriage and family were "fundamentally important" to the couple.
"This is about emotions, not about politics. It's about relationships and not about careers," she told BBC TV.
Ms Jowell will face fellow parliamentarians tomorrow afternoon when she makes a routine appearance in the House of Commons to answer questions on her departmental brief.
Ms Jowell's Parliamentary private secretary Huw Irranca-Davies told Sky News there would be a "tremendous groundswell of support" for her when she addressed the Commons.