Alan Johnson officer faces probe - BBC News

21 January 2011 Last updated at 01:12 ET

An officer who protected Alan Johnson and his wife when he was home secretary has been referred to Scotland Yard's standards watchdog, it has emerged.

The news came hours after Mr Johnson stepped down as shadow chancellor on Thursday, citing family reasons.

The Labour MP, 60, gave no details but there have been widespread rumours about the state of his marriage.

Scotland Yard said a constable had been referred to its Directorate of Professional Standards.

The directorate investigates complaints about officers' conduct.

The Metropolitan Police statement said only that "certain matters regarding a constable were referred to the Directorate of Professional Standards", adding "we are not in a position to discuss this matter any further."

Ed Balls is preparing to take on the job of shadow chancellor following Mr Johnson's sudden resignation after just three-and-a-half months in the job.

'Out of the blue'

Mr Johnson said he had "found it difficult" to cope with issues in his private life while shadow chancellor.

In a statement, the former postman and trade union leader said: "I have decided to resign from the shadow cabinet for personal reasons to do with my family."

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Economic policy is unchanged. Actually Ed and I have similar views"

End Quote Ed Miliband Labour leader

Mr Johnson, who will remain as MP for Hull West, has refused to comment further and has not given any interviews.

Mr Johnson has been married to his second wife Laura for almost 20 years and the couple have a 10-year-old son.

Shadow minister Tessa Jowell told BBC Two's Newsnight she did not know why Mr Johnson had resigned but added: "He's clearly very distressed.

"It's clearly a very, very difficult time for him."

BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the resignation had "come out of the blue" and it was not one of those stories that people had been gossiping about and wondering if it would become public.

However, he said Westminster was now "abuzz with rumours about his marriage" and stressed Mr Johnson had not been "pushed out" because of his handling of the shadow chancellorship.

"This is a deeply uncomfortable personal story which I fear Alan Johnson may see spread out in newspapers and will have to tackle in public as well as in private," he added.

Cabinet reshuffle

Mr Miliband told the BBC he had accepted the resignation "with great regret" and Mr Johnson's reasons for standing down had "nothing to do with the job" of shadow chancellor.

Mr Johnson, an MP since 1997, served as home secretary, health secretary and education secretary under Gordon Brown, but his economic credentials had been brought into question after several recent gaffes.

In an interview he appeared not to know the rate of National Insurance paid by employers, and he was also reported to have clashed with his party leader over the policy of introducing a graduate tax to replace university tuition fees.

His resignation left Labour leader Ed Miliband facing his biggest test since being elected, forcing him to reshuffle his shadow cabinet less than four months into the job.

Mr Miliband installed Mr Balls as shadow chancellor, having overlooked him last October.

A key ally of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Mr Balls has publicly disagreed with the party's policy to halve the budget deficit in four years.

But Mr Miliband stressed there would be no change in economic policy.

"Ed brings great expertise to this role and I look forward to working with him on the direction Alan and I have set out," he said.

"Economic policy is unchanged. Actually Ed and I have similar views."

BBC political correspondent Vicki Young said Mr Balls had been handed the brief he always wanted.

"A far more combative character than his predecessor, he will relish the opportunity to attack the government," she said.

But his close association with the Mr Brown gave the coalition ammunition, she added.

Simon Hughes, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, told BBC One's Question Time: "You have got the history of raiding the pensions, selling gold at lowest possible rate and the huge deficit that's left.

"So I think he (Balls) is now absolutely the man who can be pinned with the responsibility for the mega-debt that we are all having to pay off."