Stephen Byers has quit the government after months of speculation about his future.

At a hastily-convened Downing Street press conference yesterday, the cabinet minister announced he was resigning as transport secretary.

Forum Response: Virgin Trains

Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, told ePolitix.com: "On a personal basis, one has to feel sorry for someone who fails at the peak of their career, after all it was only a year or so ago that people were talking about Stephen Byers as a future prime minister of this country.

"Stephen Byers inherited a 25 year long mess in transport from rail to road. He did his best to grapple with the main issues and many of us in the industry can now see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Forum Response: Association of Train Operating Companies

George Muir, director general of ATOC, told ePolitix.com: "We always found Stephen Byers a thoughtful and open secretary of state.

"Through his appointment of Richard Bowker he brought new drive and direction to the SRA and of John Armitt to Railtrack. There is a positive momentum now in the railway, there is so much to do, and we look forward to working with his successor."

Forum Response: Unison

Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, told ePolitix.com: "Stephen Byers understood the needs of local government, unlike some of his predecessors, and this was demonstrated in the White Paper which proposed greater power to trade and to borrow.

"He recognised that high quality public services could only be delivered with the support of the workforce. We hope Alistair Darling will continue working to end the two-tier workforce in local government.

"The deputy prime minister should be able to focus on helping us to deliver world class local government services, unencumbered by the transport brief.

"We look forward to meeting with him to hear how he intends to take forward measures to end the two-tier workforce in local government.

"And we want to discuss how he intends to lever in the investment which is so badly needed if we are to improve our local services for the benefit of all our communities."