He has appointed six new governors at Wirral Metropolitan College, which is facing severe financial difficulties.

The move follows the resignations of all but one of the governors at the college, which has also been criticised over the quality of its courses.

The Further Education Funding Council for England had warned the previous governors that it would ask Mr Blunkett to use his powers to remove them from office unless they resigned.

'Unable to overcome difficulties'

Mr Blunkett said: "The governors of Wirral Metropolitan College were unable to overcome the financial difficulties being faced by the college.

"The college's academic performance has also been poor, with only around 30% of students achieving the qualification for which they were studying.

"The new governors will enable Wirral Metropolitan College to make a fresh start, and provide the high quality further education which the people of the Wirral deserve."

The new governors appointed by Mr Blunkett are: John Conlan, Chairman of the Further Education Funding Council's North West Regional Committee; Alan Moody, Chief Executive of the Chester, Ellesmere Port and Wirral Training and Enterprise Council; David Robertson, Professor of Public Policy at Liverpool John Moores University; Pauline Brown, Personnel and Communications Manager at Volclay Ltd; David Cairns, North West Regional Director of Tarmac Construction; and Bruce Scott, Chief Executive of SMCS International.

They are charged with filling the remaining places on the governing body by choosing members to represent staff, local business and other interests.