First Jacqui Smith, now Tom Watson is stepping down

Oops. There goes another one.

Tom Watson, the Cabinet Office minister and one of the prime minister’s most trusted advisers, has told Gordon Brown that he wants to stand down from the government. He will stay on as an MP.

Tom Watson is known as a blogger, former whip, a man who knows the Labour Party inside out but also as the junior defence minister who organised a round robin letter calling on Tony Blair to stand down in 2006.

Mr Blair called it an act of gross disloyalty and Mr Blair’s allies always thought that Mr Watson was acting on Gordon Brown’s behalf.

Tom Watson was linked by newspapers with the Damian McBride email smear story and although he won damages against a newspaper he’s believed to think his young family has suffered enough from the publicity and it is time to stand back from the front line.