BRITAIN: The Transport Secretary, Mr Stephen Byers, was still facing demands for his resignation yesterday as further details were published about the departure of a senior civil servant from his department.
On a day when Mr Byers would have been expected to comment on safety recommendations published in two reports about the Selby train crash, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats joined forces to condemn the Transport Secretary in the wake of allegations of chaos, spin and lying within his department.
The row over the resignation on February 15th of Mr Byers's special adviser and director of communications, Mr Martin Sixsmith, erupted again over the weekend when he publicly challenged Mr Byers's version of events.
Mr Sixsmith insisted he had not resigned from the civil service amid claims and counter-claims that disgraced special adviser Ms Jo Moore - who suggested burying bad news on September 11th - had again suggested doing so on the day of Princess Margaret's funeral. But in an unprecedented public statement yesterday the permanent secretary at the department of transport, Sir Richard Mottram, supported Mr Byers's version of events that Mr Sixsmith had agreed with him that he would resign from his post as the department's director of communications on February 15th .
However, in a new twist, Sir Richard said Mr Sixsmith had agreed to resign on three conditions. The proposed conditions were, Sir Richard said, that Ms Moore must also resign, that Mr Sixsmith would not be blamed in any way and a financial settlement would be agreed. Sir Richard told Mr Sixsmith that Ms Moore would be resigning and the two agreed to meet later on the 15th after Mr Sixsmith returned from a hospital appointment.
Sir Richard said it was his understanding that the matter was settled - although the financial package had not been worked out - and he informed Mr Byers that Mr Sixsmith had agreed to resign. The wording of an official statement was worked out in terms that did not attribute any blame to Mr Sixsmith but the announcement leaked out early before Mr Sixsmith returned to the department from hospital. It was only when the two met at the department at 5.30 p.m. that Sir Richard said Mr Sixsmith insisted the official announcement "changed everything" and he argued that he had never resigned.
Downing Street insisted Mr Byers enjoyed the Prime Minister's full confidence and it appeared that Mr Sixsmith would shoulder most of the blame for the chaos in the department.
Mr Blair's official spokesman said the former communications director had allowed a "false impression" to develop that Ms Moore had originally suggested using Princess Margaret's funeral as a cover for bad news and that had led to confusion within the department.
As the Liberal Democrats said Mr Byers had pressed "the self-destruct button", the Conservative leader, Mr Iain Duncan Smith, said the "whole mess" must be resolved for the sake of the travelling public "and for the sake of democracy. Stephen Byers has clearly lost control. If he can't get a grip of his own staff, how is he ever going to get to grips with the rail network. He should go, and go now."
"There's no trust between ministers and civil servants . . . It's clearly a resigning matter," the Tory transport spokeswoman, Ms Theresa May, said.