Byers forced into making Commons statement

Stephen Byers has been forced to make an emergency statement in the Commons today to answer the allegations that he misled MPs by claiming wrongly that his director of communications had resigned.

The Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions was engulfed by another storm of controversy after he at firrst refused to explain why he said in a statement to the House of Commons in February that Martin Sixsmith had agreed to resign as a result of the civil war in his department. On Tuesday, the department admitted Mr Sixsmith had never resigned.

Even some Labour MPs were puzzled that Mr Byers had prolonged the long-running controversy by refusing to set the record straight, and said his refusal to make a statement raised further questions about his judgement. The Parliamentary rulebook says ministers should correct "any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity".

There were protests in the Commons, led by the Leader of the Opposition, Iain Duncan Smith, that the minister had breached the rules.As expected, Tony Blair rejected Tory demands to sack Mr Byers, and as a result the Opposition tabled a formal motion to censure him.

The minister will make his statement to the House at lunchtime.

Yesterday Mr Blair defended Mr Byers during Prime Minister's Question Time. An uncomfortable-looking Mr Blair said: "I don't accept that people were misled at all." The Prime Minister insisted that a statement agreed by Mr Sixsmith and the Government on Tuesday made it "perfectly clear that any misunderstanding was in good faith and therefore the allegations that somehow the Secretary of State has misled members of this House is wrong."

Mr Blair sought to put the blame for the mix-up on to a briefing given to Mr Byers by his Permanent Secretary, Sir Richard Mottram.

Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, pointed out that Mr Byers made his February statement to correct a misleading impression in a television interview over the Sixsmith affair. He asked: "Just how many goes does the transport secretary get? The Prime Minister is very fond of three strikes and you're out, shouldn't he be out?"

Tim Collins, the Tories' Shadow Cabinet office minister, said Mr Byers' February statement was the "most clear example in human history of a man being caught out lying". He described Mr Byers as "a disgraceful wretch" and warned Mr Blair that his reputation would be sullied if he allowed him Mr Byers to remain in office.

Mr Sixsmith finally agreed to resign on Tuesday after securing a £180,000 pay-off.