THE editor of a North-East newspaper broke his silence yesterday to support claims that the Prime Minister intervened in a campaign to remove him from his job.

Harry Blackwood, who has been suspended as editor of the Hartlepool Mail, revealed he is now to start writing a column for the Mail on Sunday.

Mr Blackwood is on sick leave while the result of a disciplinary hearing is pending. He was suspended from his job after an inquiry was launched into complaints made by Hartlepool MP Peter Mandelson.

He was cleared of complaints made against him by Mr Mandelson, but was subsequently called to a disciplinary hearing over allegations which came to light during the course of that investigation.

Writing in the Mail on Sunday yesterday, Mr Blackwood said he had been informed by senior managers that Tony Blair had intervened in the controversy.

But Johnston Press, owner of the Hartlepool Mail, last night insisted that no contact had been made with the Prime Minister over the editorship of the paper.

In a statement last night, the company said concerns about Mr Blackwood's editorial approach and methods had been raised during the past two years, before any complaint from Mr Mandelson had been received.

"A recent internal review, independently verified by two senior company editors and a highly respected editorial consultant, further revealed a number of serious concerns about Mr Blackwood's editorial standards and judgement, the nature of which gave us no choice but to notify Mr Blackwood that, taken together, they could constitute gross misconduct," said the company.

Mr Blackwood hit back last night, saying: "Mr Mandelson has spent the last 18 months trying to force me out of my job so I really don't understand why he doesn't take full credit for it. He should consider it a job well done.

"Johnston Press could have got rid of me by paying up my contract and simply showing me the door. Instead, they chose to try to destroy my career and discredit me by setting in motion a disciplinary procedure where they accused me of gross misconduct. That was their choice and they must now face the consequences of their actions."

Mr Mandelson said last night: "The management previously rejected my complaints about the editing of the Hartlepool Mail.

"I wish they had not let the situation deteriorate for so long."