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The tearful resignation of a top British minister entangled in a three-year love affair is a hammer blow to Britain's Tony Blair, but few analysts expect it to derail his drive for re-election next year. The prime minister was forced to reshuffle his government on Wednesday after the fall of Home Secretary David Blunkett, who directed Britain's anti-terrorism and law and order agenda. Blair has made security the centerpiece of his campaign for a third term in power and Blunkett, an indomitable hard-liner, gave the government watertight cover against any accusations of being soft on terror or crime. In a...

Blunkett quits as home secretary David Blunkett has quit as home secretary following a string of newspaper claims that he fast-tracked a visa for his ex-lover's nanny. Mr Blunkett denies the claims but has faced increasing pressure in recent days from members of his own party. His position became more uncertain after he criticised a string of Cabinet colleagues in a new biography. The BBC's Mark Mardell said the withdrawal of support by Labour colleagues delivered the final blow.

Magazine casts sex scandal spellWed December 01, 2004 04:36 AM ET By Peter Graff LONDON (Reuters) - A 175-year-old, right-wing political journal may not sound all that sexy. But an irresistible romantic mojo is bubbling away at one august publication, causing havoc in the Houses of Parliament. In a country where adultery and politics sometimes seem to go together like fish and chips, everyone is wondering, what on earth is so sexy about The Spectator? For those who have lost track of the bedroom antics of the political elite, The Spectator is the magazine at the centre of no...

Labour's anti-terror pledge21 November 2004Home Secretary David Blunkett has signalled that a third term Labour government would impose sweeping new anti-terror laws amid fears of an al Qaida attack on Britain.Mr Blunkett said officials were looking at a range of measures - from jury-less anti-terror courts to allowing wiretap evidence in trials - which could be implemented if Labour was re-elected at the General Election.He said that civil orders - similar to anti-social behaviour orders - could be imposed against individuals who had not committed an offence but were suspected of "acts preparatory to terrorism".  In an interview with...

Home Secretary David Blunkett was meeting with his European counterparts to discuss a crackdown on terrorists' "cash couriers". Mr Blunkett was hosting the second day of a meeting with home affairs ministers from France, Germany, Italy and Spain - the so-called "G5". The high-level summit at Hassop Hall, near Bakewell, Derbyshire, will be asked to back proposals that the cross-European police agency Europol should step up work on counter-terrorism and organised crime. One initiative considered by the ministers will be that the agency should "map" networks of cash couriers which support terror groups. Mr Blunkett will suggest the five nations...

Sex offenders will be kept under surveillance by satellites and tested with lie detectors under new Government plans.The Home Secretary wants to use satellite-tracking for prisoners released on licence and offenders given community sentences.David Blunkett also wants to expand a new database which allows officers to share information on violent and sex offenders. And he plans to allow police and probation services them to use lie detectors to make sure sex offenders are keeping to the conditions of their release. Mr Blunkett told Sky News that satellite-tracking would be "a great safeguard, not just for sex offenders but for those...

Home Secretary David Blunkett has promised to tighten anti-terror laws after an Algerian al Qaida suspect was released from prison on mental health grounds. Mr Blunkett was plainly appalled at the ruling which he branded "extraordinary" and said others would consider it "bonkers". And a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Tony Blair said Downing Street regretted the release of the man known only as "G". Mr Blunkett said he would be seeking a change in the law to prevent a recurrence of the legal challenge which left the 35-year-old effectively under house arrest. Speaking on a visit to Birmingham, he told...

Home Secretary David Blunkett is heading to the United States today for high-profile discussions on combating terrorism. Mr Blunkett is due to visit Washington DC and Boston where he will speak on the challenge of balancing anti-terror laws with human rights. The politician, in his second major overseas visit this year, is also expected to urge the US to join forces with Britain to shut down Internet porn sites. Following a meeting between Mr Blunkett and relatives of murdered teacher Jane Longhurst on Thursday, a Home Office spokeswoman said ministers were keen to secure "international co-operation" to ban the cyber-porn...

4:49pm (UK)Blunkett Accused over Anti-Terror Detentions By David Barrett and Tim Ross, PA News Home Secretary David Blunkett threatened to quit as a member of Amnesty International tonight after the human rights group criticised his anti-terror policies. Amnesty said the Government’s emergency measures to combat terrorism had created a “Guantanamo Bay in our own backyard”. But Mr Blunkett, who said he has been a member of Amnesty for 20 years, rejected the criticisms, adding that he was considering resigning from the organisation. Amnesty said Mr Blunkett’s emergency measures – brought in shortly after the September 11 atrocities – had created...

AN AL-QAEDA plot to target GCHQ was last night suggested as the possible trigger for the arrest of a suspected terror agent in Gloucester. GCHQ - the Government Communications Headquarters - has been at the centre of the fight against terrorism, providing vital intelligence to authorities, particularly in the wake of the 11 September atrocities. GCHQ’s Cheltenham offices, which are about ten miles from yesterday’s first arrest, were created to streamline the task of monitoring countless phone calls and e-mails around the world to aid the fight against terrorists. Housed in an elaborate circular building, Britain’s £1.6 billion spying centre...

Explosives 'found in suspect's home' From correspondents in London November 28, 2003 EXPLOSIVE material was found at the home of an al-Qaeda suspect being searched by police in central England and has been removed safely, British police said today. "We are confident that there is no longer a danger posed by explosives on the premises and work will begin to allow the local community to return to their homes as soon as is possible," a police spokesman said. Earlier, Home Secretary David Blunkett said the man posed "a very real threat to the life and liberty of our country". The...

A man suspected of having connections with al-Qaeda has been arrested in Gloucester under the Terrorism Act. Homes in the Barton Street area of the city were evacuated on Thursday after the 24-year-old man was arrested. Home Secretary David Blunkett told the BBC: "We wouldn't have taken these steps if we didn't believe this individual posed a very real threat to the life and liberty of this country." In a separate investigation, a 39-year-old man was arrested in Manchester under the Terrorism Act. Forensic evidence A Metropolitan Police spokesman said two addresses in Blackburn, Lancashire, were also being searched. Mr...

No obvious limit to immigration, says Blunkett By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor (Filed: 13/11/2003) David Blunkett blew open the political debate over immigration last night when he said there was "no obvious limit" to the number of foreigners who could settle in Britain. With figures today expected to show that net migration is running at a record level, the Home Secretary conceded that in some areas people felt swamped or overwhelmed by new arrivals. However, he declined to say how many people he thought Britain could comfortably accommodate. His comments are certain to ignite controversy over immigration policy, which...

David Blunkett provoked renewed indignation from the Muslim community last night when he warned that extremist imams were increasing the terrorism threat by preying upon impressionable youngsters. "We have to understand what is happening in a world where young men and women can be enjoined by their religious leaders to take their own lives and others as suicide bombers," he said. The Home Secretary said the involvement of two British Muslims in a suicide attack in Israel this year demonstrated that "we are not completely untouched". Apart from the two in Israel, in recent years Britain has supplied Ahmed Omar...

David Blunkett has promised tough action to tackle gun crime in the wake of the murder of jeweller Marion Bates. The home secretary used his keynote speech to the last day of the Labour conference in Bournemouth to pay tribute to Mrs Bates. She was gunned down during a robbery at her Nottinghamshire shop on Tuesday while trying to protect her daughter. Mr Blunkett pledged support to the police in the battle against gun crime saying: "My heart goes out to her family. "I want the experience of the Metropolitan Police in London with Operation Trident - dealing with gang...

David Blunkett has refused to give more details of the terrorist threat which has sparked a huge security alert in Britain - but insisted it was "real and serious". The Home Secretary said it would not be "responsible to provide a running public commentary" and the public must be "alert but not alarmed". Mr Blunkett was speaking after demands from Tories and Liberal Democrats to give details of the threat facing the country. He said: "We face a real and serious threat. We know that al Qaeda will try to inflict loss of human life and damage to the UK....

Press release by the Home Office: DRAFT ORDER TO OUTLAW FOUR ADDITIONAL TERROR ORGANISATIONS PUBLISHED TODAY A draft order to proscribe four organisations with links to the Al-Qaida terrorist network was laid before Parliament today by Home Secretary David Blunkett. The order will be debated by MPs and peers later this week and will be subject to approval by both Houses of Parliament. Mr Blunkett is seeking to add the four names to the list of 21 international organisations already proscribed under provisions in the Terrorism Act 2000. His proposal to extend the proscription list in the wake of recent...

YESH MEANS YES For the drunkard attempting to excuse himself from a traffic offence, Aristotle offers no more comfort than does the local constabulary. His Nicomachean Ethics argues that drunken offenders should not be let off on the grounds of diminished responsibility, but should have their penalties doubled ‘because the origin of the offence was in the man himself, as he might have avoided getting drunk, which was the cause of his not knowing what he was doing’. In other words, you may be oblivious to what you do while you are drunk, but you are responsible for getting...