LONDON, May 5 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair Friday conducted a radical cabinet reshuffle, following a disastrous result for the government in the local elections.
Most notably, Charles Clarke was sacked from his post as home secretary and is to return to the parliamentary backbenches after refusing offers of other cabinet positions. He is to be replaced by former Defense Secretary John Reid, from whom Des Browne, the former chief secretary to the Treasury, takes over.
The opposition had been calling for Clarke's resignation since he admitted last week that over 1,000 foreign prisoners eligible for deportation had been accidentally released, some of whom had since reoffended.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott was stripped of his departmental responsibilities following last week's revelations of an affair with his diary secretary, but, controversially, is to retain his title, salary and privileges.
Among other changes, Jack Straw was removed from his post as foreign secretary and demoted to leader of the House of Commons. He is to be replaced by Margaret Beckett, previously environment secretary, who becomes the first woman to head the Foreign Office.
The reshuffle, the most extensive of Blair's career, follows a humiliating result for Labor in local elections across England Thursday. The party lost over 250 council seats and was relegated to third place in the popular vote behind the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, with just 26 percent.
But many disgruntled Labor parliamentarians branded the move inadequate, saying it was Blair himself who needed to be shuffled out.
John McDonnell, chair of the Labor Representation Committee, said his group would likely mount a leadership challenge later this year. "No number of reshuffles will address the crisis of confidence among our supporters in our leadership," he said.
