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| Version 7 | Version 8 |
|---|---|
| Lord Jones to leave in reshuffle | Lord Jones to leave in reshuffle |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Lord Digby Jones will be stepping down as a government minister in Gordon Brown's reshuffle, which is expected to take place in the next few days. | Lord Digby Jones will be stepping down as a government minister in Gordon Brown's reshuffle, which is expected to take place in the next few days. |
| The former CBI chief was one of the outside experts brought in by Mr Brown when he became prime minister. | The former CBI chief was one of the outside experts brought in by Mr Brown when he became prime minister. |
| He told the BBC he always intended to do the trade minister's job for a limited time, and said it was not a judgement on Mr Brown's performance. | He told the BBC he always intended to do the trade minister's job for a limited time, and said it was not a judgement on Mr Brown's performance. |
| Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly is also leaving in the reshuffle. | Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly is also leaving in the reshuffle. |
| The appointment of Lord Jones was controversial at the time because he was not a member of the Labour Party. | |
| He countered that criticism by saying that the job of promoting trade and investment "should transcend the factionalism of party politics". | |
| He told the BBC that it was already well known that he was going to step down, saying he had only taken the role on for a "finite period". | |
| "I said when I took the job fifteen months ago... I'd do if for the country, for the government, for my prime minister," he said. | |
| "And that time is coming up to an end and it's public knowledge that whenever he wanted to reshuffle, he could count me in it and I would slip away. | |
| "It's not a comment on him - I think his leadership is very, very good indeed, it's not a comment on government. | |
| "This is a comment on the terms and conditions on which I took the job. I've no idea when the reshuffle is, but when the reshuffle comes I would expect to go away." | |
| Lord Jones has been involved in some controversy during his time in the job - notably when he expressed concerns about plans to tax "non-domiciled" foreigners in Britain. | |
| It emerged during the Labour Party conference that Ms Kelly had asked to leave the government at the next reshuffle because she wanted to spend more time with her family. | |
| The reshuffle is expected to be a more limited than at one time expected, given the current economic crisis. | |
| There had been speculation it would happen on Thursday, but Downing Street appeared to play down that possibility, telling reporters the prime minister was "very focused on other issues". |