Britain's Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain has quit the Cabinet after his deputy Labour Party leader campaign donations were referred to the Met Police.
Hain announced his resignation Thursday within minutes of the Electoral Commission saying that it had decided to refer the late declaration of 103,000 pounds (some 200,850 U.S. dollars) of donations to the police.
Hain has admitted that more than 100,000 pounds of donations towards his bid to become the Labour Party's deputy leader were not declared as they should have been.
He blamed poor administration, but said the suggestion he tried to hide anything was "absurd".
He said his commitment to his two cabinet jobs meant he had not paid closer attention to his campaign finances.
Hain is the first ministerial resignation of Gordon Brown's premiership.
Hain said in a statement to reporters that he regretted what had happened and felt he had "no alternative" but to resign. He said he had stood down to "clear my name".
According to BBC, Hain earlier wrote to Prime Minister Gordon Brown: "I made a mistake but it was an innocent mistake." Brown stood by Hain saying he accepted the minister's explanation that the late donations were down to "an incompetence".
The 57-year-old holds two Cabinet jobs -- Work and Pensions Secretary and Wales Secretary.
He has been Secretary of State for Wales since October 2002, and took up his Work and Pensions role in Gordon Brown's first reshuffle in June.
Born in Nairobi and brought up in South Africa, Hain was educated at Pretoria Boys High School, the University of London and Sussex University.
He joined the Labour Party in 1977 and worked as a trade union official until entering the Commons at a 1991 by-election in Neath.
However, Hain's bid to replace John Prescott as his Labour party's deputy leader ended in failure when he came fifth out of six contenders and his campaign was left with huge debts, which he tried to clear by seeking donations from wealthy individuals.
Hain declared 17 of the donations more than four months after the contest ended, placing him in potential breach of electoral law.
The Electoral Commission said it would be up to the Metropolitan Police to decide whether to investigate the donations.
The investigation will be carried out by the Metropolitan Police Specialist and Economic Crime Directorate.
Commons leader Harriet Harman, who won last year's deputy leadership race, paid tribute to Hain earlier Thursday during business questions in the Commons, telling parliament members: "I personally regard him as an excellent colleague and a good friend."
Health Secretary Alan Johnson, a fellow challenger for Labour's deputy leadership last year said, he was "absolutely" shocked by Hain's resignation but could understand why he had done it.
Giving his reaction, Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said Hain had made the right decision.
(Xinhua News Agency January 25, 2008)
