Minister quits in Anna Nicole row

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The immigration minister of the Bahamas has resigned over a row about his involvement with the late Playboy model and actress Anna Nicole Smith.

Newspaper pictures of Shane Gibson and Anna Nicole Smith embracing each other had sparked calls for him to leave.

It was claimed that Mr Gibson had fast-tracked Smith's application for residency on the island.

Mr Gibson apologised for any embarrassment he may have caused the country but denied any wrong-doing.

'Sorry'

"I want to apologise to all persons who may in any way have been offended by anything that I have said, done or perceived to have said or done," Mr Gibson said on state television.

But Mr Gibson, who was pictured fully clothed hugging the former model and actress, denied that he had a sexual relationship with the 39-year-old.

Smith's application for residency on the island was based on the disputed ownership of a waterfront mansion in the Bahamas.

Mr Gibson denied that he had abused his ministerial office by speeding up the process to grant Smith residency, describing her as a family friend.

According to local newspaper The Bahama Journal, Mr Gibson's mother was looking after Smith's five-month-old daughter, Dannielynn, when she died.

The body of Smith, the widow of Texas oil tycoon J Howard Marshall II, was found in a Florida hotel room on 9 February.

The cause of her death, which has sparked a paternity row and custody battles, has yet to be determined.