Labour civil war over Blair departure date

5.03.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 6th Sep 2006

Labour Party erupted into civil war as eight members of the Government, including two from the West Midlands, quit their posts today over Tony Blair's refusal to name a date for his resignation as Labour leader. Junior minister Tom Watson and seven parliamentary private secretaries (PPSs) are among 17 normally loyal Labour MPs who have signed a letter calling on Mr Blair to quit.

Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Menzies Campbell said "This is no longer a matter of the convenience of the Labour Party and the ambitions of its senior members. What is at issue is the national interest, which is not being served by the continuing uncertainty over Mr Blair. The Labour Party has created this situation and has the responsibility to solve it. Mr Blair should either resign or state a date."