Blair to announce resignation timetable

British Prime Minister Tony Blair will announce today that he will quit within a year, following one of the most serious political crises of his premiership.

Mr Blair has been forced to cave in to demands from rebel Labour MPs that he set a timetable for his departure after yesterday’s dramatic events which saw eight junior members of his government quit their posts.

He will use a pre-planned photo opportunity with Education Secretary Alan Johnson to make the announcement, following the turmoil in his government

The revelation about the timetable followed the shock resignation yesterday of junior defence minister Tom Watson and seven junior members of the government who quit their posts as Parliamentary Private Secretaries.

And as speculation increased over the apparently co-ordinated move by Mr Watson and the other seven, reports suggested there had been “furious exchanges” between Mr Blair and British Chancellor Gordon Brown.

Mr Brown has so far made no public pronouncements over the political turmoil surrounding Mr Blair's departure.

Today Mr Brown will be in Scotland with Olympic Gold Medallist Steve Redgrave at the opening of the UK School Games, while Mr Blair will visit a school in London with Mr Johnson.

Last night it emerged that Environment Secretary David Miliband, who earlier this week said it would be “reasonable” for Mr Blair to stay in office for the next 12 months, suggested that the Chancellor was the only person who should succeed Mr Blair when he stepped down.

In an interview with the New Statesman magazine he also called for an “energising, refreshing transition”.

Yesterday, senior sources within No 10 confirmed to the Press Association that Mr Blair felt he had to give clarity to his party and the country about his intentions.

The seven MPs who resigned from their posts were: Khalid Mahmood, Wayne David, Ian Lucas, Mark Tami, Chris Mole, David Wright and Iain Wright.

Mr Blair had accused Mr Watson of being “disloyal, discourteous and wrong” in signing up to a round-robin letter from 15 MPs calling on the premier to stand down.

In a letter to Mr Watson, Mr Blair said attempts to get him to step down or name his departure date were harming the party and were “divisive … and totally unnecessary”.

That will now be superseded by the announcement on the timetable for his departure.

A strong supporter of the Chancellor denied that yesterday’s events were part of a plot by the Brown camp.

Leeds East MP George Mudie told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “All the individuals – a number of them are very strong Blair supporters who have resigned from the Government.

“It isn’t a Brown plot and I think Gordon is probably as broken-hearted as Tony Blair is about what’s happening this week.”