London - Ms Angela Eagle, who has become the first senior politician to declare herself as a lesbian, yesterday reassured her constituents that she would continue working as hard on their behalf as she had always done.
Ms Eagle, a junior minister in Mr John Prescott's Environment, Transport and the Regions department, "came out" in an interview with yesterday's Independent. Her move appears to have found a wide welcome among constituents, gay rights campaigners and, according to reports, fellow politicians.