UK PM's aide quits over email smear

One of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's closest aides has been forced to resign
amid a scandal over a series of damning emails designed to smear the Conservative
Party.

Damian McBride, a senior Downing Street press adviser, quit after admitting he sent
emails to a former Labour aide turned internet blogger Derek Draper containing lurid
allegations about senior Conservatives.
Political blogger Paul Staines, who runs an online blog called Guido Fawkes, ended
up obtaining the emails, which have also been splashed across various Sunday
newspapers in Britain, sparking outrage on all sides of politics.
McBride suggested in his emails a variety of smears targeting Tory MPs including
leader David Cameron, shadow chancellor George Osborne and three others, to
destabilise their general election strategy.
According to The Sunday Times, which obtained the emails, McBride suggested "putting
the fear of God" into Osborne by spreading rumours about how he took drugs and had
sex with a prostitute.
Other emails suggested challenging Cameron to reveal details about an "embarrassing
illness", while another involved attacking a gay Tory MP over false claims that he
had promoted his partner's business interests in parliament.
Accepting McBride's resignation, Gordon Brown said there was "no place" in politics
for such conduct.
"Neither the prime minister nor anybody else in Downing Street had knowledge of
these emails," a spokesman said.
McBride said he was "shocked and appalled" that Staines had made his emails public.
"I have already apologised for the inappropriate and juvenile content of my emails,
and the offence they have caused," he said in his resignation letter to Brown.
"We all know that when a backroom adviser becomes the story, their position becomes
untenable, so I have willingly offered my resignation."
Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said Gordon Brown should explain publicly how
McBride's allegations came to be sent from an official Downing Street email address.
"This is an exceptionally serious matter and he needs to explain immediately what
happened," Grayling told the BBC.