British Prime Minister Tony Blair said today it may have been a mistake to rule out a fourth term.
Mr Blair, on a visit to Australia, was asked in an interview with if his determination not to seek another term was a mistake that left him open to calls for his resignation when rows such as the "cash-for-favours" controversy broke.
"I think what happens when you get into your third term and you are coming up to your 10th year is that it really doesn't matter what you say," Mr Blair said in the interview.
"You are going to get people saying it should be time for a change or 'when are you going?' or 'who's taking over?'," added Mr Blair, who has been in office since 1997.
He said his announcement he would not seek another term was "an unusual thing for me to say, but people kept asking me the question so I decided to answer it. Maybe that was a mistake."
Asked about the comment later, Mr Blair's official spokesman said: "Some people may think it was a mistake. He [Blair] doesn't."
The Labour Party has come under pressure recently after officials revealed it had received nearly €20.3 million in loans from 12 businessmen, some of whom were nominated for seats in Britain's upper parliamentary chamber after lending money.
Mr Blair originally won power promising to be "whiter than white" after a string of scandals undermined the previous Conservative government.
The prime minister, who won a third term last May with a reduced majority, has said he intends to stay for a full term, but the loans row has caused renewed speculation over when he could hand over to his expected successor, Gordon Brown.