Blunkett calls for an end to 'vivid' and 'destructive' publicity

Sunday, 13 March 2005 12:00 AM

Former Home Secretary David Blunkett has called for an end to the "vivid" and "very destructive" publicity both he and others have incurred at the hands of the press.

Mr Blunkett appealed to newspapers to be more controlled in their coverage of individuals' private lives.

His comments came three months after the ordeal that forced him to resign from his office amid claims he had helped ex-lover Kimberly Quinn's nanny to get a visa.

Mr Blunkett has since been widely tipped for a rapid return to frontline politics after the forthcoming general election, expected May.

In his first full length interview since his resignation, the former Home Secretary described the recent turmoil in his personal life as a "tragedy".

Appealing for an end to the publicity, Mr Blunkett said all involved were still having a "terrible time" and asked for the press to let the dust settle on the issue.

As to whether he regretted tending his resignation, he admitted he felt he had little choice but to resign.

"Not in terms of the actual issue, but the position I have found myself in", Mr Blunkett told BBC One's Breakfast with Frost.

"This is no exclusive to me because since that day all those who have been centrally involved in this personal tragedy have had a terrible time, they have been harried and pursued by the press and I appeal again today that they shouldn't be."

"Honestly, it was a tragedy," he said. "There is nothing in the least bit entertaining about what has taken place and I'd just like people to let all of us get on with our private lives."

"When my private life and my public life were conjoined together there was nothing I could do about that, but it is over."

"The difference between those who have been involved in this incident and other people is that you don't normally get into the public arena in a vivid and I think very destructive way that has happened."

He added: "I'm sorry about that, but as a public figure I have to accept it, others don't and I would like them to be left alone."

Mr Blunkett was speaking after it emerged last weekend that he was not the father of his ex-lover Kimberly Quinn's younger child, born last month

A spokesman for Mr Blunkett confirmed in a press statement that DNA tests had proven he was not the father.

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