British opposition politicians today stepped up the pressure on Home Secretary Mr David Blunkett over the fallout from his affair with married publisher Ms Kimberly Quinn.
Ms Theresa May, the Tories' spokeswoman on family issues, called on Mr Blunkett to "consider his position."
Shadow home secretary Mr David Davis said that several of the allegations levelled at Mr Blunkett would be resigning issues if they were proven.
Liberal Democrat leader Mr Charles Kennedy said Mr Blunkett's decision to give Ms Quinn a rail warrant intended for MPs' spouses was an "error of judgment" which would have a "corrosive effect on his position".
And Labour peer Baroness (Helena) Kennedy QC questioned the value of Sir Alan Budd's inquiry into allegations that a residency application by Ms Quinn's nanny was fast-tracked by the Home Office, warning that the public might be inclined to view the inquiry as a "fix" with a pre-determined outcome.
The intensified pressure on Mr Blunkett came as his row with his pregnant ex-lover over access to her two-year-old son prompted a new round of claims and counter-claims.
On Friday Mr Blunkett won the first round of a court battle with Ms Quinn, when a High Court judge dismissed her call for a delay in the hearing of the Home Secretary's application for a contact order over the boy, known as "A" for legal reasons.
Now the saga has moved from the courtroom back to the front pages of the Sunday newspapers.
The Sunday Telegraph reported that Mr Quinn, publisher of right-wing weekly The Spectator, wants to testify directly to former Treasury official Sir Alan's inquiry into allegations that Mr Blunkett accelerated Filipino nanny Ms Leoncia Casalme's application for permanent residency in Britain.