In full: Brown at PMQs | Comment Central: What does it all really mean? | What does brooch say about Blears' intentions? |

Hazel Blears dealt a potentially fatal blow to Gordon Brown's political authority today when she announced her departure from Cabinet on the eve of crucial local and European elections.

It was the fourth ministerial resignation in 24 hours and the second at Cabinet level after the news yesterday that Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, is also to stand down. It also came as Mr Brown's critics in the Labour Party canvassed support for a round-robin letter calling on the Prime Minister to resign.

But whereas Ms Smith had been prepared to hang on until a reshuffle, Ms Blears announced her resignation less than two hours before Prime Minister's Questions and a day ahead of elections directly relating to her job.

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The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government said that she would be heading back to "grassroots" campaigning on the streets of her Salford constituency.

The timing was seen as a clear attempt to undermine Mr Brown — the Tory leader David Cameron told the Prime Minister it was "a direct challenge to your authority" — and raised fresh doubts about his ability to hold his frontbench team together.

It emerged, however, that Cabinet Office officials examining ministers' expenses claims had uncovered new "discrepancies" in Ms Blears's expenses, namely that she had avoided capital gains tax on the sale of another property that she had designated as her second home in Commons expenses.

Ms Blears had already come under pressure for "flipping" her second home and avoiding capital gains tax on the sale of a flat in Kennington, South London — which the Prime Minister had described as "totally unacceptable".

She voluntarily wrote out a £13,000 cheque for the taxman, but The Daily Telegraph reported today that the money was also to cover the tax on profits from the sale of another property.

The implication of the revelation was that Ms Blears — knowing that she was facing the sack in a reshuffle, if only for mocking the Prime Minister's YouTube video — may have decided to jump before the latest allegations surfaced so that she could focus on shoring up her position in her constituency.

It is believed that Mr Brown asked Ms Blears to delay her resignation statement until Friday or until he carries out the full reshuffle, but she refused.

In her statement, Ms Blears said: "Today I have told the Prime Minister that I am resigning from the Government. My politics has always been rooted in the belief that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things, given the right support and encouragement.

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