At 3am yesterday the lobby of the Midland Hotel in Manchester was the unlikely setting for one of the most bizarre Cabinet resignation announcements of recent times.

The hotel had hummed with activity throughout the week because of its location next to Labour’s conference centre.

Despite the hour, a good smattering of Labour delegates and reporters were enjoying a nightcap after parties on the final night of the Labour conference.

Into the high-ceilinged foyer marched Damian McBride, press adviser to Gordon Brown, and Julie Crowley, Ruth Kelly’s special adviser.

The pair had been deluged with questions from journalists since midnight asking whether Ms Kelly was on the point of resignation. At first their tactic was to dismiss the idea as speculation, a classic spin-doctor’s way of neither confirming nor denying the story. But about an hour later the BBC told them that it was about to run a story, gained from other sources, stating that Ms Kelly had previously told Mr Brown of her intention to resign at the next ministerial reshuffle.

Reporters were told that the BBC’s information was essentially correct. Some – including The Times – managed to squeeze the story into final newspaper editions.

Mr McBride and Ms Crowley then retreated to the Radisson Hotel, where most members of the Cabinet were staying, to consult on what further information should be revealed. Just before 3am the pair returned to explain to a dozen or so journalists that Ms Kelly had told Mr Brown as long ago as May that she wanted to go, and that the reason was a desire to spend more time with her family.

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