The New York Times-20080125-Britain- Brown Loses First Cabinet Minister- -Brief-

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Britain: Brown Loses First Cabinet Minister; [Brief]

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Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government suffered its first high-profile casualty as Peter Hain, the work and pensions secretary, resigned in the face of a police investigation. He said he was stepping down to clear his name of accusations of illegally failing to report donations to his losing campaign last year to be the deputy Labor Party leader. The resignation is an embarrassment for Mr. Brown, who has tried to position himself as a squeaky-clean corrective to Tony Blair, whose government was blighted by accusations that party officials had promised seats in the House of Lords in exchange for donations.