Now Sixsmith goes public

Stephen Byers's ousted communications chief Martin Sixsmith today spoke for the first time about the email affair which is threatening to bring down the Transport Secretary.

In the interview with James Naughtie on Radio 4's Today programme he sheds more light on a saga of deception and cover-up.

On his dealings with Sir Richard Mottram, senior civil servant in Mr Byers's department

"I think he's a very able man and I think he's doing a very good job of running a very troubled department. I admire him as a civil servant and I like him as a person. I think it's very wrong that a civil servant like Sir Richard should be forced to appear in public to defend what was a political decision taken by a politician."

He tells Naughtie about the key conversation at 12.30pm on Friday 15 February involving his supposed "resignation"

"Sir Richard told me that he had spoken to Byers about this, and the decision was that it had to be a symmetrical resignation - I had to go at the same time as Jo.

"I was left with two options. Sir Richard said 'we have two ways of getting around this latest Jo Moore crisis ... we can muddle through with no resignations, and I, Sir Richard, would have to weed out a few people in the press office ... or Martin, we could go for the more dramatic option which is the double resignation scenario'

"I came out of the hospital (appointment) slightly late, around 4pm, and heard on the radio that they had accepted my resignation, which I thought was rather odd since I hadn't resigned.

"It seemed rather odd to me, that for so long we have heard this phrase that no-one should be forced to go for one mistake, and it seemed to me that I was being forced to go for one mistake."

On Jo Moore, Stephen Byers's adviser

"On the Monday we had discussed what to do (about publishing rail performance figures on the day of Princess Margaret's funeral) and Jo suggested the Friday, and I said I didn't think it was a good day.

"At that moment I didn't know about the funeral. It wasn't a good day to do it - a Friday - because it was slipping out bad news .... In retrospect I probably should not have done it (sent a note to Stephen Byers and Jo Moore) as an email. I probably should have done it orally.

"I have certainly got no agenda against Jo Moore, no agenda against Stephen Byers. I am only interested in clearing my reputation and if possible, securing my job."

Smears from No 10

"I have had some very odd telephone calls from well-respected journalists from well-respected newspapers, saying sources close to Number 10 are saying 'ring Martin and try to find out about his property portfolio'.

"Absolutely bizarre - I own a flat in Paris, what is the secret about that? But to suggest that there is something murky about that, strikes me as a rather odd thing to do."

Who was responsible for his departure?

"All the indications are that it was Stephen Byers who, having got to the end of his tether, I suspect, with Jo Moore, decided that he would accept Jo's resignation but I was told that he would only accept Jo's resignation if I was made to resign as well.

"I have not resigned, I have not been sacked.

"They could sack me now because I have spoken to you ( James Naughtie) without Stephen Byers's permission. But that would be hard, because they would have to say, well he didn't resign in the first place."