Seven junior members of the British government have resigned in protest at Prime Minister Tony Blair's continuation in office.
They include Under-secretary of state for defence Tom Watson , whom Mr Blair accused of being disloyal and discourteous. All seven had put their names to a letter asking Mr Blair to stand down.
Mr Watson said it was not 'in the interest of either the party or the country' for Mr Blair to remain in office.
Together with other MPs who had first entered Parliament in 2001, he had been a signatory to a letter yesterday urging Mr Blair to name the date for his resignation.
In a statement, Mr Blair said he had been intending to dismiss Mr Watson anyway and said his actions were 'disloyal, discourteous and wrong'.
About 90 minutes later Khalid Mahmood, who was also thought to have signed the protest letter, stood down as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Home Office minister Tony McNulty.
Senior British government ministers have said there will be a new leader of the Labour Party by the summer.
Downing Street has refused to comment on press reports today that Mr Blair would resign as Labour leader on 31 May and as Prime Minister two months after that.
The press rumours came after several of Mr Blair's political allies went public yesterday to confirm that they expected a new leader to be in place within 12 months.
The former Home Secretary, David Blunkett, said it was vital that Mr Blair and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, who is seen as a front-runner, co-operated.
