Hodge gets frosty reception

Friday, 5 December 2003 12:00 AM

Margaret Hodge admitted last night she contemplated resigning her brief as minister for children, after the "bad mistake" she made in branding a sex abuse victim "extremely disturbed".

Ms Hodge was forced to made a public apology to Demetrious Panton, pay legal costs and make a £10,000 donation to the charity of his choice after he threatened legal action over her remarks in a letter to the chairman of the BBC, Gavyn Davies.

Opposition parties and many sections of the media demanded her resignation but she received the backing of Tony Blair and hung on to her post.

Mr Panton, a philosophy graduate and consultant to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, was in care when Ms Hodge was leader of Islington Borough Council during the 1980s.

Speaking on BBC One's 'Question Time' last night, Ms Hodge said: "Of course when I made this mistake and when I apologised, both in public and in private, I reflected on whether I could continue with that absolutely crucial job we've got of transforming services for children.

"In the end the decision I came to was that I do feel passionately about these issues. I really came into politics to change the world a bit and I really want to change the world and create better outcomes for children."

She said she decided to stay as she had a "passion" for her ministerial role and wanted "to make a difference in children's lives".

She said her overall record as a minister was "good".

But the Tory party's Dr Liam Fox said Ms Hodge should have resigned.

He said: "She has no credibility as a Children's Minister as a result of what happened."

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