Minister quits in migrants row

Immigration minister Beverley Hughes resigned today after being forced to admit she had been told about a suspected visa scam in eastern Europe.

Ms Hughes met Prime Minister Tony Blair this morning before the cabinet meeting and tendered her resignation, which he accepted.

She had first offered to quit at a meeting with Mr Blair and Home Secretary David Blunkett in the commons late yesterday afternoon.

The three decided they should reflect on her offer to quit overnight.

New scandal

She was forced out after Labour's deputy chief whip Bob Ainsworth contacted Ms Hughes to remind her that last March, when he was a Home Office minister, he had written to her alerting her to the visa scam.

Ms Hughes had even written back to him saying she was aware of the worries.

Yet the minister has been insisting all week that she had only become aware of the problem following an e-mail to shadow home secretary David Davis from the British consul in Bucharest.

Ms Hughes gave interviews on Channel 4 news and BBC2's Newsnight on Monday night insisting she had no knowledge of the visa racket.

She told Newsnight: "We don't yet know that, do we? because this is the first anybody except David Davis has heard of these allegations."

Confusion over call

It was that interview which prompted Mr Ainsworth to contact Ms Hughes - but Mr Blair's official spokesman has refused to say when that crucial call came.

Both Ms Hughes and Mr Blunkett have been insisting ministers were not aware of the issue - leaving the Home Secretary potentially vulnerable to charges he too gave a misleading impression.

Mr Blair's spokesman insisted there was no threat to Mr Blunkett's position, saying: "The Prime Minister believes he is a first class Home Secretary."

Des Browne has been appointed as the new Immigration Minister.

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