PRIME Minister Tony Blair put the finishing touches to his Whitehall shake-up and ministerial reshuffle last night - with surprise appointments and resignations.

As expected, Keith Vaz left his position as Europe Minister due to ill health, but also in the midst of allegations surrounding his business affairs.

A Downing Street spokesman said Mr Vaz had written yesterday to the PM to ask to stand down.

Mr Blair wrote back that he understood the MP's reasons for leaving and added: "I hope you will now have the chance for a proper rest."

The Prime Minister also unexpectedly brought back into Government former ministers Harriet Harman and Alun Michael.

Ms Harman left office after arousing the anger of left-wingers by sending her son to a selective grant-maintained school. She returns as Solicitor General, boosted by her background as a civil rights lawyer.

Alun Michael has been made an environment minister, despite his disastrous spell as Welsh First Minister.

He resigned the post before losing a vote of no confidence over European aid in February last year.

Two North-East MPs have quit the Government - International Development Minister Chris Mullin and Agriculture Minister Joyce Quin.

Mr Mullin, MP for Sunderland South, and also a former junior Environment Minister, said: "I'm leaving the Government and I'm leaving at my own request.

"I'm hoping to return to the world of select committees which is where I came from."

He spent years as backbench MP and was best known for helping secure the release of the wrongly imprisoned Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four - the latter was made into a film, In The Name Of The Father, in which Mr Mullin was played by John Hurt.

In his letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Mullin said: "After two years in the foothills of government, I have concluded that I can be of more use to the party, the country, and the human race in general, if I return to the world of select committees."

Joyce Quin, MP for Gateshead East and Washington West, also left the Government of her own accord. She said: "I indicated that I wanted to step down from the Government in the autumn of last year, but Tony Blair asked me to hang on and then we had the problems of foot-and-mouth in the department and leaving at that time would not have been a good or sensible thing to do."

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