Communities secretary Hazel Blears quits cabinet

The secretary’s decision to stand down before the cabinet reshuffle has put further pressure on the government in the wake of recent political crisis, and home secretary Jacqui Smith’s decision to resign earlier this week.

The Salford MP recently found herself embroiled in the expenses scandal. Blears is currently under investigation for capital gains tax evasion following allegations that she pocketed £45000 profits on the sale of a London flat she registered as a second home under MPs expenses. Blears has repaid over £13000.

During Prime Minister’s Questions Conservative leader David Cameron compounded criticism that the government was in its “death throes” saying that Brown’s “ability to command has simply disappeared.”