David Blunkett resigned as home secretary on 15 December 2004. His departure was triggered by the discovery of correspondence linking his office to the fast-tracking of a visa application for his ex-partner’s nanny. Reports at the time cited an email that used the phrase “no favours but slightly quicker”.

Blunkett, who had served as Tony Blair’s home secretary since 2001, was widely regarded as a political heavyweight. In his resignation statement, Blunkett said: “I have always been honest about my recollection of events. But any perception of this application being speeded up requires me to take responsibility.”

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The scandal centred on Leoncia Casalme, the nanny employed by Kimberly Quinn, the publisher of the Spectator magazine. Blunkett had engaged in a three-year affair with the married Quinn, which ended in August 2004.

Casalme applied for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK in March 2003. She was initially informed by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) that her case might not be processed until the following January. However, after Quinn raised the issue with Blunkett, the application was processed in 52 days – 120 days faster than average.

Blunkett denied interfering and, in response to initial reporting, requested an independent inquiry led by former Treasury official Sir Alan Budd.

The story of Blunkett’s resignation was also intertwined with a steady stream of developments and revelations regarding his private life. Beyond the visa row, Blunkett had launched legal proceedings to gain access to Quinn’s two-year-old son, whom he claimed to be the father of. The legal battle was subjected to weeks of gruelling tabloid scrutiny.

In a tearful BBC News interview following his resignation, Blunkett said that in time people would understand what he had been through “along with my three older sons, for that little boy.”

He said that the preceding weeks, involving a dramatic break-up and paternity battle, had been the worst of his life.

Blunkett told Sky News that he wanted the child to know in future years that “his father cared enough about him to sacrifice his career”.

He said: “When I was given the option of walking into the sunset, of disappearing out of the life of that little boy, I was right not to…

“And, quite honestly, what sort of human being, what sort of man, what sort of politician do the people want who would actually put their career, put their public persona before actually doing what a decent sort of human being would want to do.”

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It was a discovery by the Budd inquiry that forced Blunkett’s resignation. On 14 December, Sir Alan informed the home secretary of a fax and exchange of emails between Blunkett’s office and the IND.

Blunkett stated he had “no recollection” of the correspondence but that this was “irrelevant to the inference that can be drawn”.

Blunkett’s resignation also came after the serialisation of a biography by Stephen Pollard, which led to reports that he had made disparaging remarks about cabinet colleagues. He was reported to have said that Gordon Brown, the chancellor, “threw his weight around” and that Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, had left the Home Office in a “giant mess”.

Shortly before his resignation, Blunkett was said to have sung Fred Astaire’s Pick Yourself Up at a Christmas party of Labour MPs.

The Daily Mail, meanwhile, had published allegations that Casalme had received special treatment on a second visa application, to holiday in Austria.

A separate inquiry, conducted by standards commissioner Philip Mawer, was tasked with investigating reports Blunkett had given a rail warrant intended for MPs’ spouses to Quinn. In late November, the home secretary’s spokesperson said he would repay the £180 cost of the train ticket to Doncaster. Mawer’s report, published on 21 December, found Blunkett had committed a breach of parliamentary rules.

Blunkett’s resignation was a serious blow to the Blair government, coming just months before an expected general election. The home secretary had been a central figure in the New Labour project, as the minister responsible for controversial legislation on anti-terrorism, asylum and ID cards.

Blair, who had backed Blunkett throughout the saga, accepted his resignation with “great regret.” In a letter to Blunkett, Blair wrote: “You leave government with your integrity intact and your achievements acknowledged by all.”

He added: “You are a force for good in British politics.”

Blair, who had only recently expressed “full confidence” in Blunkett, was taunted over the scandal at prime minister’s questions shortly before the home secretary’s resignation. Conservative leader Michael Howard offered Blair a copy of the Stephen Pollard biography for Christmas “holiday reading”.

Howard stated: “I particularly recommend to the prime minister the home secretary’s helpful assessment of the prime minister and his cabinet colleagues.”

The book remained on the table separating the two leaders when Blair left the chamber, prompting Tory MPs to respond: “Your book! Don’t forget the book!”. Hilary Armstrong, the chief whip, then moved to pick up the book before throwing it at the Conservative frontbench. The gesture was generally interpreted as Armstrong expressing her frustration at the controversy enveloping Blunkett.

In response to Blunkett’s resignation, shadow home secretary David Davis said his outgoing opposite number had done the “honourable thing” in resigning.

Davis said: “I feel sorry for him. He is a tough opponent and a remarkable man. It is a sad day for him… Ministers should not use public office to promote the cause of family or friends, but should work for the country as a whole.

“I’m prepared to believe it was unintentional, but unwise.”

Bob Marshall-Andrews, a rebel Labour backbencher, offered a less forgiving verdict. “I think one is dealing here with somebody who it appears, certainly to many people in the commons and the country, is quite seriously unbalanced”, he said.

Blunkett was replaced by Charles Clarke, the education secretary.

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The full report by Sir Alan Budd was published on 21 December. It concluded there was a “chain of events” linking Blunkett to the decision to speed up the visa application.

The report read: “I believe that I have been able to establish a chain of events linking Mr Blunkett to the change in the decision on Ms Casalme’s application for indefinite leave to remain.”

The inquiry published an email, sent by Blunkett’s private secretary to the director general of the IND in May 2003, which asked for an “update on the settlement (domestic worker) case I faxed through to you the other day?”

The director general’s private secretary wrote back: “Sorted – she has been granted ILR – papers will be sent to her shortly. The case was in ICU [Initial Consideration Unit] so they pulled it out of the queue and made a decision – (no special favours, only what they would normally do – but a bit quicker)”.

Budd did not form a firm verdict on the central charge, however, stating he was “unable to say” whether Blunkett had ordered the fast-tracking or intervened to highlight general administrative delay.

Budd said: “I believe there are two broad possibilities [either] Mr Blunkett was seeking special help for Mrs Quinn’s nanny [or] he was raising the case as an example of the poor performance of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND).

“I do not have direct evidence that allows me to choose between the two possibilities.”

DNA testing ultimately established that Blunkett was the father of Quinn’s two-year-old son.

In February 2005, Kimberly Quinn gave birth to another son; DNA testing established that Blunkett was not the father. A spokesperson said that previous reports claiming Blunkett had initiated legal proceedings in relation to the second child were “inaccurate”.

After Labour won the 2005 general election, Blunkett returned to parliament and rejoined the cabinet as work and pensions secretary.

Blunkett’s comeback was short-lived, however. In November 2005, he was forced to resign for a second time following reports regarding paid work he had undertaken between his two periods in office. The controversy centred on his failure to consult the independent advisory committee on business appointments after his resignation as home secretary.

Blunkett stood down from parliament at the 2015 general election.