Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to announce his resignation Thursday after 10 years in power, paving the way for his long time ally-turned-foe Chancellor Gordon Brown to take office by July.
The 54-year-old defended his record on the eve of the widely-expected announcement, again refusing to apologise over the war in Iraq, and forecast that his Labour Party would win the next election without him. "Come the general election it's policy that counts and on policy we win, and he loses," he said referring to main opposition Conservative leader David Cameron at his weekly grilling in parliament.
The premier is widely tipped to announce Thursday that he will stand down, likely handing over power to finance minister Gordon Brown, his ally-turned-foe, by the start of July.
But Blair and his Downing Street office are keeping tight-lipped about the exact details. According to The Sun newspaper, known to have good Downing Street sources, Blair will make "an emotional resignation speech," firing the starting gun on a seven-week contest for the Labour leadership.