Transport secretary Stephen Byers yesterday admitted his involvement in the events surrounding press officer Martin Sixsmith's "resignation".

Giving a statement in the commons, he conceded that he had told permanent secretary Sir Richard Mottram that, in his opinion, Sixsmith should not be given another civil service post, despite denying any involvement in personnel issues within his department during an interview with Jonathan Dimbleby over the weekend.

The cabinet minister, along with Mottram, visited Number 10 shortly after the statement, and was reportedly congratulated by prime minister Tony Blair for apologising to the house.

Downing Street and Labour backbenchers repeated their support for Byers. The Conservative response to the statement was widely considered ineffective.

The Mirror dubs the embattled minister "Spinocchio" on its front page. Sir Anthony Jay, the writer of "Yes Minister", tells the paper he "could not have written a script like this" if he had tried.