LONDON, April 1: British Immigration Minister Beverley Hughes resigned on Thursday after officials exposed lax controls that allowed migrants from Romania and Bulgaria to enter the country with forged papers.

Beverley Hughes, 54, quit for "unwittingly" misleading parliament over the affair after days of media and political attacks.

Immigration is set to be a key issue at the next election, expected next year, with Prime Minister Tony Blair keen to counter opposition claims that his government is too liberal in allowing asylum seekers and new immigrants into Britain.

Mr Hughes was replaced by Des Browne, a junior minister in the Work and Pensions department, indicating that any wider reshuffle will not spill over to major government figures.

Mr Hughes, who was elected to parliament in 1997 when Mr Blair was swept to power, tendered her resignation on Wednesday night. "Nothing is more important than my integrity and while I did not intentionally mislead anyone, I have decided that I cannot in conscience continue to serve as immigration minister," she told parliament in a resignation statement on Thursday.

Mr Blair later told his monthly news conference she had behaved with "integrity" and a "great deal of courage". It was unclear whether Mr Hughes had jumped or was pushed although she received strong backing from her boss, Home Secretary David Blunkett, and Mr Blair this week.

Analysts said Mr Blair was unlikely to suffer much personal political damage but Conservative leader Michael Howard launched a scathing attack on Mr Blair's Labour government. -Reuters