http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/15/blunkett_checks_out/print.html
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Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/15/blunkett_checks_out/
Blunkett hands in cards after prints found on visa
By John Lettice (john.lettice at theregister.co.uk)
Published Wednesday 15th December 2004 23:11 GMT
David Blunkett, UK Home Secretary and prime mover behind the British ID
card scheme, resigned this evening after further revelations concerning the
residency application of his lover's nanny. Emails seen by Sir Alan Budd's
enquiry made it clear that - contrary to Home Office denials - the letter
to the nanny warning of a possible 12 month delay had been dealt with by
his office.
This was critical to Blunkett's defence. He had claimed that he merely
checked over the initial application, and when over the weekend it was
claimed (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/13/blunkett_bashes_dti/) that
he had produced the letter from the immigration service in a meeting with
senior civil servants, a Home Office spokesman insisted that he had had "no
contact with the letter at all, at any stage."
In a statement (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4099761.stm)
tonight, Blunkett concedes that Budd's enquiry has identified "a fax and an
exchange of emails between my office and the Immigration and Nationality
Directorate" based on the letter that he had had "no contact" with. He says
that he was "always aware"of this letter, "but did not remember holding a
copy. I have no recollection of dealing with this in any way... I have no
recollection of issuing instructions to deal with the application, but only
to continuing the elimination of the backlog in general".
The email is reported to have said "no favours but slightly quicker." We at
The Register feel that we would have trouble figuring out how that works
even if we were sober. Which we are not entirely; but, since you ask, this
evening's Privacy International Christmas bash went rather better than one
could possibly have expected. Education Secretary Charles Clarke wins the
ID scheme poisoned chalice. He commented that there would be continuity
between his approach and Blunkett's; the immigration status of any
paramours which Clarke may or may not have is not known at time of press.
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R. A. Hettinga