Clamour grows for Blair to reveal when he will stand down as PM

Tony Blair is under mounting pressure to spell out his timetable for his departure as Prime Minister, amid growing speculation about his future.

The febrile atmosphere at Westminster was fuelled when a cabinet minister's aide urged Mr Blair to hand over to Gordon Brown rapidly. Ashok Kumar, parliamentary private secretary to the International Development Secretary, Hilary Benn, said: "If Mr Blair is concerned with securing a lasting and memorable legacy for Britain then I can think of no better way than to allow a smooth and rapid succession for Mr Brown." Writing in The Northern Echo, the Labour MP said the "loans for peerages" scandal had "not helped" efforts to rebuild trust in politicians. Mr Kumar stuck to his guns last night and denied that he faced a reprimand or the sack.

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