Thursday, November 3 2005 14:57 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: British Prime Minister Tony Blair has appointed John Hutton as the new Works and Pensions Secretary following the resignation of his key ally David Blunkett who is embroiled in a controversy over his business affairs.

Hutton, a relative newcomer and a staunch Blair loyalist, leaves his cabinet post as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to take over one of the biggest policy portfolios in the Government.

Fifty-year-old Hutton's appointment is seen by Labour MPs as a sign of Blair's determination to push through important reforms in the crisis-ridden pensions system.

Hutton said he would take forward a 'radical reform agenda', including changes to incapacity benefit scheme besides addressing the challenge of creating a pension system that allows people to enjoy secure retirement.

"The Prime Minister has made clear my job is to press ahead with the government's radical welfare reform agenda so that rights are properly matched with responsibilities, I am very much looking forward to that challenge," he said. Blunkett quit the Cabinet for the second time in less than a year yesterday after it emerged that he failed to get clearance from an ethics committee to become a director of technology firm DNA Biosciences while he was out of cabinet.

He broke ministerial rules by accepting the two-week directorship without consulting the committee, which advises former ministers whether they should take up jobs. He took up the job in April before the general elections.