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The head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency is being replaced after clashing with chancellor Angela Merkel over anti-migrant violence in the country.
Dr Merkel’s office released a short statement saying the head of Germany’s BfV spy agency, Hans-Georg Maassen, will be moved to a new position within the interior ministry.
The decision, which follows three-way talks between Dr Merkel and the heads of two other parties in her governing coalition, is a defeat for conservatives in her Union bloc.
The centre-left Social Democrats and some in Dr Merkel's party had been calling for Mr Maassen to be fired for playing down recent far-right violence in the eastern city of Chemnitz.
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Mr Maassen has also been criticised for alleged improper contacts with members of the anti-migrant Alternative für Deutschland, which he denies. – AP