British Prime Minister Tony Blair's mid-term Cabinet reshuffle received a mixed response from London's press yesterday -- with his move to bury the post of justice minister largely applauded but the sudden resignation of health chief and close ally Alan Milburn seen as a blow.
"Emergency surgery on the Cabinet," read the headline splashed across the front page of The Times, in response to Blair's quick-fire appointment of John Reid as health secretary in place of Milburn, who unexpectedly resigned Thursday citing family reasons.
The Independent said Reid's appointment was not a move "to invigorate the Blair revolution" on public services but rather a "patching-up exercise."
"Blair is rocked by great Milburn mystery," headlined the right-wing Daily Mail which, like other papers, was taken aback by the resignation of a politician thought to harbor great ambition.
Paul Routledge, chief political commentator for the left-wing Daily Mirror, claimed Milburn may have quit to prepare a leadership challenge should Blair come unstuck in his pursuit to win a third term in office.
The Daily Telegraph, a right-wing publication heavily critical of Labour's policies, said "the voluntary departure of Mr Blair's most ambitious disciple speaks volumes about the government's failure to deliver radical change in the public services."
The Sun said that in losing Milburn, the prime minister had "lost the backbone of his Blairite revolutionary guard."
The other major change brought about by Blair's reshuffle was the announcement that the role of lord chancellor was to be gradually killed off after a 1,398-year run.
In existence since 605, the lord chancellor has been at once justice minister, speaker of the House of Lords -- Britain's upper chamber of parliament -- and responsible for the running of law courts in England and Wales, including the nomination of judges.
London's press welcomed the departure of the outgoing lord chancellor, Lord Alexander "Derry" Irvine, who claimed he had retired.
The Daily Mail called his leaving "the one move deserving an unqualified welcome."
It said that as lord chancellor, Irvine "became a joke in the worst possible taste, with his pomposity, arrogance and outrageous extravagance. He will not be missed."
With Irvine's departure comes a radical shake-up of the judiciary, including the setting up of an independent panel to appoint judges and a supreme court as England and Wales' final court of appeal.
The Guardian said the changes could prove to be "the largest single legacy" of Blair's premiership, adding that "a great step has been taken towards bringing British institutions into the 21st century.
Both the Financial Times and The Sun said that the changes were "long overdue."
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