Timeline: Blair's ministers who quit

MOST SIGNIFICANT MINISTERIAL RESIGNATIONS
WHO	WHEN	JOB	WHY	WHERE NOW
David Blunkett	Nov 2005	Work and Pensions	Potential conflict of interest over shares More details	Backbench MP
David Blunkett	Dec 2004	Home Secretary	Row over fast-track visa for nanny More details	Backbench MP
Andrew Smith	Sep 2004	Work and Pensions	To spend more time with family More details	Backbench MP
Beverley Hughes*	Apr 2004	Immigration Minister	"Unwittingly" misled people about a suspected visa scam. More details	Returned as children's minister, May 2005
Alan Milburn	Jun 2003	Health Secretary	To spend more time with family More details	Backbench MP
Clare Short	May 2003	International Development	Iraq war More details	Backbench MP
Robin Cook	Mar 2003	Commons leader	Iraq war More details	Died in August 2005
John Denham*	Mar 2003	Home Office minister	Iraq war More details	Backbench MP
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath*	Mar 2003	Health minister	Iraq war More details	Returned as junior work and pensions minister, May 2005
Estelle Morris	Oct 2002	Education Secretary	A-Level marking row, admitted she was "second best" More details	Elevated to House of Lords, May 2005
Stephen Byers	May 2002	Transport Secretary	Good day "to bury" bad news e-mail row & Railtrack controversy More details	Backbench MP
Peter Mandelson	Jan 2001	Northern Ireland	Hinduja brothers passport row More details	EU Trade Commissioner
Frank Dobson	Oct 1999	Health Secretary	To run (unsuccesfully) for London Mayor More details	Backbench MP
Jack Cunningham	Oct 1999	Cabinet Office minister	Dropped in Cabinet reshuffle after months of speculation More details	Left Commons at 2005 general election
Peter Mandelson	Dec 1998	Trade Secretary	Home loan from Geoffrey Robinson More details	EU Trade Commissioner
Geoffrey Robinson*	Dec 1998	Paymaster General	Loan to Peter Mandelson More details	Backbench MP
Ron Davies	Oct 1998	Welsh Secretary	"Moment of madness" on Clapham Common More details	No longer MP, left Labour Party Jan 2005 for Forward Wales party
Frank Field*	Jul 1998	Social Security minister	Passed over for promotion More details	Backbench MP

*Not Cabinet minister

NOVEMBER 2005

Mr Blunkett is the most senior minister to quit the government

David Blunkett quits for the second time, this time as work and pensions secretary, after being accused of breaking the ministerial code of conduct over paid work he took while he was out of the Cabinet.

He took a job as director of DNA Bioscience shortly before the May 2005 general election, without seeking advice from the relevant watchdog.

Blunkett admits 'I made mistake'

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DECEMBER 2004

David Blunkett steps down as home secretary after his complicated personal life spills into the public arena.

His resignation was in the end prompted by the emergence of an email confirming his ex-lover's former nanny had her visa application fast-tracked.

Blunkett quits as home secretary

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SEPTEMBER 2004

Andrew Smith quits the Cabinet as work and pensions secretary following newspaper speculation he would be dropped in a forthcoming reshuffle.

Mr Smith said he wanted to leave his post "to devote more time to the responsibilities I enjoy in my constituency and to my family".

Pensions secretary resigns

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APRIL 2004

Beverley Hughes quits as immigration minister. Downing Street says she "unwittingly" misled people over her knowledge of lax visa checks on Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants.

Ms Hughes told a BBC interviewer she was not aware of the alleged scam, but it later emerges she was warned about it a year ago by a Labour colleague.

Hughes resigns over visa scam row

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JUNE 2003

Health Secretary Alan Milburn quits unexpectedly to spend more time with his family.

The arch Blairite returned to Cabinet in September 2004, when he was given the job of organising Labour's re-election bid. After the election he returned to the backbenches.

Milburn quits as health secretary

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MAY 2003

Clare Short becomes the fourth minister to quit over Iraq, although her decision comes after the US-led war.

It is prompted by anger at the way she believes the United Nations - and her own international development department - have been sidelined in the country's reconstruction, despite earlier promises to the contrary.

Short launches broadside at Blair

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MARCH 2003

Robin Cook becomes the first New Labour cabinet minister to quit on a matter of principle.

He resigns as Commons leader over his opposition to the looming war in Iraq.

Home office minister John Denham also resigns over Iraq, saying he cannot back the government's invasion plans.

Junior health minister Lord Hunt of Kings Heath also resigns in protest at the government's policy over Iraq.

Cook quits over Iraq crisis

Blair loses third minister over Iraq

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OCTOBER 2002

Estelle Morris resigns after mounting pressure over her handling of an A-level marking debacle. She says the job of education secretary is too important to have "second best".

A year later, Ms Morris returns to the front benches as a junior arts minister.

Education secretary resigns

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MAY 2002

Transport Secretary Stephen Byers resigns after months of pressure sparked by special adviser Jo Moore's e-mail suggesting 11 September was a good day "to bury" bad news as the United States came under terrorist attack.

He was later accused of misleading MPs over putting Railtrack into administration and over the resignation of media director, Martin Sixsmith. Mr Byers denied lying but said he had to go because he had become a distraction.

Stephen Byers quits government

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JANUARY 2001

Peter Mandelson has two resignations under his belt

Peter Mandelson resigns for a second time, this time as Northern Ireland Secretary, after claims he had helped the Hinduja brothers, Labour donors, in their efforts to get British passports.

Mr Mandelson was later cleared by the Hammond inquiry of "improper" behaviour.

Mandelson resigns

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OCTOBER 1999

Saying he did not want to be a part-time health secretary, Frank Dobson steps down from the Cabinet shortly after announcing he is to stand for London Mayor, a contest he loses to Ken Livingstone.

Dobson to leave Cabinet

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In the mini-reshuffle triggered by Frank Dobson's departure, Jack Cunningham resigns as cabinet "enforcer" after constant predictions of his departure.

Cunningham's long goodbye

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DECEMBER 1998

Trade Secretary Peter Mandelson resigns for the first time, as does Paymaster General Geoffrey Robinson, the man who secretly gave him a £373,000 home loan.

Mandelson quits

Second minister quits in loan row

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OCTOBER 1998

Welsh Secretary Ron Davies becomes the first cabinet minister to quit, after a "moment of madness" which saw him robbed by a male stranger on Clapham Common.

Davies leaves Wales in turmoil

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JULY 1998

Social Security Minister Frank Field resigns after Tony Blair decides not to give him the job of his boss, Harriet Harman, when she was dropped from the cabinet.

Blair sacks four and appoints 'enforcer'

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