Profile: Stephen Byers

By BBC News Online's Ben Davies

There have been better weeks for Transport Secretary Stephen Byers.

First his spin doctor, Jo Moore, the person supposed to keep him out of trouble, is revealed to have sent a memo urging colleagues to "bury" bad news stories in the aftermath of the US terror attacks.

Then Mr Byers is accused of pushing a senior civil servant out of his job for refusing to participate in a Ms Moore-devised smear campaign.

One of the rapidly promoted Blairite ministers, Mr Byers has had something of a knack for landing himself in trouble in the press.

Remember the seafood dinner in which he briefed lobby hacks that Labour would break all links with the unions?

Quick rise

Mr Byers took a while to get a seat at Westminster, largely because he lacked trade union sponsorship which is something of a must in the north east of England, but once he was there it was, by the standards of British politics, a rapid rise.

In less than seven years he was in the cabinet, prompting some speculation that he was Blair's natural successor - along with Chancellor Gordon Brown, of course.

Byers was criticised over his handling of the Rover debacle

All of that was before the Rover debacle which left workers at Longbridge fearing for their jobs after BMW made its shock decision to sell the British car manufacturer.

The trade secretary was inevitably a focus for angry, betrayed workers and there was suspicion as to when Mr Byers actually knew of the decision.

Blair-Brown, Byers-Milburn

Until then one of the favourite comparisons drawn by senior observers in the Westminster village was between Mr Byers and Health Secretary Alan Milburn, and Mr Blair and Mr Brown.

Mr Byers and Mr Milburn were elected in the same year (1992), were on the same wing of the party, were from the north east, shared an office and were great mates.

It is a situation that has uncanny similarities with the chancellor and the prime minister when they were first elected.

The Downing Street neighbours continue to work closely together but, by all reports, they are a great deal less matey following a spat about who should run for the party leadership in 1994.

Mr Byers beat Mr Milburn into the cabinet, and then went on to be trade secretary within six months.

He was then shunted sideways to become transport secretary in the post-election victory reshuffle.

The 'faceless' minister came under pressure to ditch the moustache

In April 2000 he was described as "faceless" in terms of his public profile - and perhaps after this week he wishes he still was.

There have been some suggestions that his job might be on the line, but he has overcome a few tests of character previously when the media has been howling at his door.

Most memorable was when he was tripped up on BBC Radio Five Live over his ignorance of the eight-times-table, while an education minister.

In his role as "outrider for the Blair project" he has asserted that "the reality is that redistribution of wealth is now less important than the creation of wealth".

His support for the cause of New Labour is so great that he even made the personal sacrifice of losing his moustache - part of a wider cull of facial hair on the party's frontbench.

Another role that he has taken in the past is to voice support for the single currency.

Eurofriendly

Along with his boss, he has been one of the few Labour ministers prepared to speak out in favour of the euro.

Mr Byers was born in Wolverhampton and won a place at Chester City grammar leaving early to take his A-levels at a local college because he hated the school.

He went on to gain a law degree at Liverpool.

His background is as a law lecturer and as a councillor in Newcastle.

His father was a RAF technician and his partner, Jan, is a lawyer.