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UK Northern Ireland Secretary Resigns
Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson resigned from the cabinet on Wednesday over a passport scandal.
Prime Minster Blair accepted his resignation on Wednesday morning. It was the second time Mandelson, Blair's close political confidant, has been forced out of the cabinet in disgrace since the Labor Party came to power in 1997.
The prime minister earlier summoned Mandelson to Downing Street to "establish the facts" of his involvement in the passport application of controversial Indian billionaire Srichand Hunduja.
Mandelson had come under increasing pressure over the issue since the weekend following claims he pulled strings to help Hinduja secure a UK passport after he pledged 1 million pounds (1. 47 million U.S. dollars) in sponsorship for the Millennium Dome, while Mandelson was in charge of the project.
Mandelson was first forced to quit the cabinet in 1998 after failing to disclose that he had secretly received a 373,000 pound loan from his then fellow minister Geoffrey Robinson to buy a house in London.
Mandelson's second resignation sent shockwaves across Westminster and through the Labor Party. The resignation on Wednesday will also be seen as a heavy blow to Blair as he faces his next national election, expected to be called in May.
Although the passport row was regarded as damaging, there were few who had believed it would lead to Mandelson being forced out of the cabinet immediately and for an unprecedented second time.
Mandelson originally denied playing any role in Mr. Hinduja's application for a UK passport.
On Wednesday morning, the prime minister's official spokesman refused to answer journalists when they asked if the prime minister continued to have confidence in Mandelson.
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