DAVID BLUNKETT HAS been battling to clear his name this week, after a series of allegations saying that he abused his position as Home Secretary to do his ex-lover, Kimberly Quinn, a series of favours.
An independent investigator will focus on the claim that Mr Blunkett intervened in the visa application of Mrs Quinn’s former Filipino nanny, Leoncia Casalme, for permanent residency in the UK. Mr Blunkett is said to have checked that the application was correctly filled in, but did not pass it on to his office to be processed.
As well as this claim, Mr Blunkett is under the spotlight regarding other allegations as well. These include giving Mrs Quinn his first-class train ticket, taking her to Spain accompanied by his bodyguards at the taxpayers’ expense and ordering his government chauffeur to drive her from London to her home in Derbyshire. ShadowHome Secretary, David Davis, said: “the allegations talk about misuse of power, resources and information,” however, Prime Minister, Tony Blair says he has “full confidence” in his Home Secretary and the Liberal Democrats have accepted Blunkett’s denial of wrongdoing.
In a statement over the weekend Blunkett said, “trust, plain speaking and straight talking is something which matters to me as a politician and as a man. I have decided, of my own volition, to request an independent review of the allegations that I misused my position. I regret the time and resources needed to undertake this, but in the light of the flagrant attempt to link my public position with the deeply personal circumstances of my private life, I believe that on this specific occasion, it is right to lay this accusation to rest.”
