London – Prime Minister Tony Blair has told ministers that he plans to leave office in the summer of 2007, according to news reports Sunday.
Blair has said he plans to serve a full third term but reassured lawmakers from his governing Labor Party that he would step aside in time for his successor to settle into office before the next general election, expected in 2009.
The Independent newspaper on Sunday said a Cabinet minister, asked whether Blair had said he would go next summer, responded: “I’m not going to tell you exactly what Tony said, but I wouldn’t disagree with that.”
The newspaper quoted another unidentified minister as saying that “almost half the Cabinet” has been given private assurances about a departure date by Blair.
Blair’s office refused to comment on the reports Sunday.
The prime minister’s battle to shift the spotlight from his political intentions intensified after his Labor Party placed third in local elections this month.
