Major 'refused Mellor offer to resign'

DAVID MELLOR, Secretary of State for National Heritage, issued a statement last night admitting that he had been experiencing marital difficulties, after a Sunday newspaper alleged he was involved in 'an intimate relationship' with an out-of-work actress.

Amid renewed calls from MPs for tougher laws to prevent press intrusion, Mr Mellor said he regretted the publicity and asked that he and his family be left alone to resolve their problems.

Earlier, the editor of the People, Bill Hagerty, vigorously defended publishing the story, which included claims that the relationship between Mr Mellor, 43, and Antonia de Sancha, 31, interfered with his duties as a cabinet minister. The newspaper reported that the minister had been seen entering a flat for a liaison with Ms de Sancha at 10.58pm on Monday

6 July and photographed leaving at 7.55am the next day.

The report alleged that the liaison left Mr Mellor 'too tired to write two important speeches'.

Today's edition of the People's sister paper, the Daily Mirror, reports that telephone conversations between the minister and Ms de Sancha were taped without their knowledge. It also ran a front page photograph of the bedroom of the flat where they allegedly met.

In his statement Mr Mellor said: 'I regret this publicity and what has happened and in particular the effect on my family and

colleagues. 'My wife Judith and I have been experiencing difficulties in our marriage and we want to sort the situation out for the sake of each other and especially for our two young children. This I hope we can do in private.'

There was no comment from 10 Downing Street, but there was an indication that the reports would not affect the long-standing friendship between the Major and Mellor families.

It was reported last night that Mr Mellor had offered his resignation on Saturday but that John Major refused to accept it. Downing Street refused to comment last night on the report.

Some MPs said yesterday that the People's behaviour demonstrated the need for new laws to curb press intrusion. David Young, Labour MP for Bolton South-East, said: 'The press is again using its vast resources and power rather to sell scandal than to devote itself to the obligations it should have, to protect the institutions of this country.'

Lord McGregor, chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, said that if a complaint was made to the commission, it would be considered in the usual way.

But senior Labour figures focused on the dilemma facing Mr Mellor in his role as the minister responsible for assessing press conduct. Sir David Calcutt, QC, recently asked to carry out an assessment of the effectiveness of self-regulation by the newspapers, will report directly to Mr Mellor.

Barry Sheerman, a Labour spokesman on home affairs, said Mr Mellor's treatment by the People, would be bound to colour his judgement and that he could no longer be seen to be impartial.

Last night Mirror Group newspapers could not confirm whether the People's next instalment, concerning 'late night calls to the minister's home', would now be run. 'It's a matter for the editor,' a spokesman said.

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