Where Byers went wrong

Stephen Byers's political career, which seemed so bright when he emerged as a key Blairite figure in the mid-Nineties, descended into a series of blunders.

Many of the gaffes were followed by bungled attempts at a cover-up, leading to a spate of "liar" headlines.

Mr Byers first attracted controversy when he briefed journalists at Blackpool's Seafood Restaurant in October 1996 that Labour was ready to cut its links with the unions. His comments were slapped down by his party's high command.

He was appointed School Standards Minister on Labour's election victory in May 1997 only to suffer an embarrassment over his multiplication by claiming that eight times seven was 54.

Mr Byers became Trade Secretary after the first downfall of Peter Mandelson in December 1998 and kept his nose largely clean until the Rover affair in March 2000. He insisted he had been kept in the dark over BMW's plans to ditch the car maker - but the chairman of the German company said he had called Byers to warn him that Rover was in "serious trouble".

In March 2001 came a serious cover-up charge. He was accused of suppressing a trade department report on former Paymaster General Geoffrey Robinson, which claimed Mr Robinson had received a £200,000 cheque from Robert Maxwell - a charge Mr Robinson denied. Mr Byers was said to have sat on the report. After Labour's June 2001 general election victory-Mr Byers became Transport-Secretary.

In the aftermath of the terror attacks on the US Mr Byers's spin doctor, Jo Moore, was revealed as the author of a notorious email claiming 11 September was the ideal day on which to "bury" bad news. Mr Byers, backed by Tony Blair, refused to sack Ms Moore - a decision widely seen as a key factor behind his downfall.

A month later Mr Byers faced the first of many accusations that he had lied about the timing of his decision to put Railtrack into administration. The Transport Secretary said Railtrack chairman John Robinson told him the firm was in crisis - a claim denied by Mr Robinson.

In January 2002 Mr Byers tried to escape crises on the railways by jetting off for a holiday in India, a trip first revealed by the Standard. In farcical scenes, his office tried to cover up his destination, then offered to reveal it if we took a mock-up picture of the minister off our front page, a deal we declined.

February 2002 saw the Martin Sixsmith affair, which saw both Mr Sixsmith and Ms Moore depart from the transport department. Mr Byers said Mr Sixsmith had resigned when he had not done so. Mr Byers also claimed he did not interfere in a compromise deal with the press chief - when the evidence suggested he had.

In May, Mr Byers was revealed to have played a key role in the takeover of Express Newspapers by Richard Desmond. Mr Byers blundered by claiming ministers were paving the way for entry into the euro this year at a journalists' lunch and was savaged over his department's failure by a Labour- dominated MPs' committee.

What Byers has left behind
Comment: He was a symbol of spin
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