Blunkett ex-lover 'no big sinner'

Mr Blunkett pictured with Mrs Quinn at a function last year

The husband of David Blunkett's ex-lover, Kimberly Quinn, has appealed for his wife to be left alone.

Stephen Quinn said: "She is not the greatest sinner this country has produced."

Seven months pregnant Mrs Quinn is ill in hospital amid the row over whether Mr Blunkett helped her improperly.

On Thursday, the Tories said her nanny should not have been given residence rights as she had not been in the UK long enough to qualify.

Justice

Mrs Quinn's nanny, Leoncia Casalme, gained residency despite apparently not having been in the UK for the required four years, said Conservative frontbencher Dominic Grieve.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There doesn't seem to be any explanation for that. It does seem to call into question the entire system that the Home Office is adopting."

The Home Office would not comment on whether such a time limit applied. It has asked former civil servant Sir Alan Budd to look into the handling of the case.

I wouldn't be standing here if I thought there was any doubt whatsoever about what I've done David Blunkett What are the rules for MPs? Blunkett's statement

The home secretary denies intervening to speed up the nanny's visa, although he admitted checking the form.

With his wife still in hospital, Mr Quinn told reporters: "She is not the greatest sinner this country has produced.

"It's not really fair to keep on saying that 'Oh my God, it's terrible', or whatever.

"We must have a sense of humanity, fairness, justice and reasonableness."

Court action?

Mr Quinn wants issues over the children left until next spring.

"It's not right to keep attacking her about access and things like that," he said.

"The issue really is that when Kimberly has her next child in February and when she can be rational, together and reasonable, we will deal with this."

Spectator claim

The Spectator magazine - of which Mrs Quinn is publisher - used an editorial to claim Mr Blunkett had leaked details of his affair to the newspapers.

"After years of sucking up to the tabloid media, notably by introducing a series of illiberal Home Office measures, he was able to deploy them as weapons of revenge in his deluded amatory campaign," said the magazine, which is edited by Tory MP Boris Johnson.

Home Office Minister Hazel Blears backed Mr Blunkett on BBC's Question Time on Thursday evening.

She said she had never felt Mr Blunkett's private life was distracting him from his job.

On Wednesday the Daily Mail published letters from the Home Office to Miss Casalme.

The nanny was initially informed it could take up to a year to process her visa claim, but 19 days later she was told she could stay in the UK indefinitely.

Mr Blunkett says the letters are genuine but prove nothing about his conduct.

Blair support

The Home Office says it was not unusual for straightforward visa claims to be processed quickly.

Miss Casalme has also broken her silence about the affair.

She claims, in the Daily Mail, that her boss Mrs Quinn had told her she had a "friend" who might be able to assist with the visa application.

Downing Street has stressed the prime minister's support for his home secretary and hinted the probe into his conduct in the visa affair could report next week.