Britain's Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, David Blunkett, leaves after a cabinet meeting at Downing Street, last Thursday. - REUTERS
LONDON (AP):
BRITISH PRIME Minister Tony Blair, already plagued by government splits over policy, faced further troubles yesterday as opposition lawmakers demanded a probe into the conduct of a key Cabinet ally.
Work and Pensions Secretary David Blunkett is accused of breaching the ministerial code by accepting a lucrative company directorship, without first consult-ing a parliamentary committee.
It is the second political row to engulf Blunkett in less than a year. He was forced to quit as home secretary in December following a messy affair with a married American magazine publisher.
Ignoring widespread criticism, Blair gave Blunkett another key government position less than five months later. If he is forced out of office again, it would be a major embarrassment for the prime minister and raise doubts about his judgement.
"I don't think people should rush to a conclusion until we actually know what has gone on," Blair said Monday. But his support for Blunkett, a close friend and one of his most trusted ministers, was equivocal.
Officials said the prime minister has sought advice over whether Blunkett had breached ministerial guidelines by briefly becoming a non-executive director of DNA Bioscience in April.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Blunkett, who is Britain's only blind legislator, quit the post when he returned to Cabinet in May. But Conservative lawmakers claim there may still be a conflict of interest as the minister bought £15,000 - about US$27,000 or euro22,000 yesterday - worth of shares in the company.
The row is another unwelcome distraction for Blair, who won a third and final term in office in May. He could serve as prime minister until 2010, but speculation is rife that he will quit sooner. Powerful Treasury chief Gordon Brown is said to covet the premiership and some believe that by announcing he will not seek a fourth term, Blair has become a lame duck.
Blair is intent on building a lasting legacy, other than the divisive and unpopular war in Iraq, and is pushing ahead with an ambitious agenda of improving Britain's public services.
But his Cabinet publicly squabbled this month over plans to give schools greater independence and over the extent of a ban on smoking in public places _ prompting questions about Blair's authority.
