BOLTON West MP Ruth Kelly said she did not intend to announce her resignation as Transport Secretary at the Labour Party conference.
Ms Kelly said it had been “frustrating” to have the news leaked and she had doubts over the way it was handled.
A spokesman for Ms Kelly said: “She didn’t intend for it to come out that way. She wanted it to come out just before the next reshuffle, not at the conference.”
Rumours of Ms Kelly’s intention to resign from the cabinet emerged on Tuesday night in the bars of the Labour Party conference in Manchester.
The rumour was reported by David Grossman on the BBC’s Newsnight programme, forcing Ms Kelly to make an official announcement on Wednesday morning.
The spokesman said: “As far as she is concerned, the matter is dealt with now.”
Ms Kelly said she wanted to stand down from frontline politics to spend more time with her family — she has children aged 11, 10, eight and five.
She was given an ovation at the conference when she made the announcement.
Ms Kelly has refused to say whether she will stand at the next election.
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