Tony Blair government tainted by 'sleaze,' ex-PM John Major says

Former British Prime Minister John Major said in an interview broadcast Sunday that the government of successor Tony Blair is more tainted by "sleaze" than his own.

Blair's Labour Party swept to power in 1997, winning a landslide election victory over Major's Conservatives, who had been in office since 1979 and were embroiled in a series of scandals toward the end of that period.

But Labour minister David Blunkett was forced to resign from the Cabinet last week after acknowledging that his business dealings had breached ministerial guidelines. It was the second time in less than a year that Blunkett had quit the Cabinet, and his departure was a big embarrassment for Blair, AP reports.

A.M.