THE Scotland Office minister of state today became the first person to resign from the Government in protest over Gordon Brown's leadership.

Graham Dines

THE Scotland Office minister of state today became the first person to resign from the Government in protest over Gordon Brown's leadership.

The fact that David Cairns is also a Scottish MP will be deeply troubling for Mr Brown, who will be spending the rest of the week preparing for the Labour Party conference.

Mr Cairns has been minister of state in the Scotland Office since 2007. A former Roman Catholic priest, he was first elected to the Commons in 2001 for Inverclyde.

Earlier, the party's ruling NEC refused to issue ballot papers to accommodate the growing number of backbenchers demanding a leadership contests.