Prisons Minister leaves wife after saying: I'm gay

Crispin Blunt, the 50-year-old Tory MP and Prisons Minister, said he wanted to come to terms with his homosexuality and there was nobody else involved.

In a statement, his office said: "Crispin Blunt wishes to make it known that he has separated from his wife Victoria.

"He decided to come to terms with his homosexuality and explained the position to his family. The consequence is this separation.

"There is no third party involvement, but this is difficult for his immediate and wider family and he hopes for understanding and support for them.

"The family do not wish to make any further public comment and hope that their privacy will be respected as they deal with these difficult private issues."

Mr Blunt was at the centre of a number of scandals and slip-ups in the early days of the coalition.

His plans to overturn a ban on comedy workshops and fancy dress parties for inmates earned him a public rebuke from Downing Street, which stepped in to make it "very clear" there would be no prison parties under their watch.

And his suggestion that criminals who said sorry could get shorter sentences also earned him widespread criticism amid questions over how long he would remain in his post.

Forwarding his media statement to MP colleagues last night, Mr Blunt said his family had been "extraordinarily understanding".

"I know colleagues will appreciate the personal sensitivity of this, particularly for my family, who have been extraordinarily understanding," he said in an email.

Fellow Tory MP Peter Bottomley and his wife Baroness (Virginia) Bottomley, the former Health Secretary, sent Mr and Mrs Blunt a message of support.

"Life is seldom for long as good or as bad as it appears," the Bottomleys said.

"You have the good wishes of many. You do have our support and understanding."

Mr Blunt is no stranger to controversy, having resigned from a previous post in 2003 as he called for a vote of no confidence in then-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith.

He is among the latest MP to publicly confirm his homosexuality.

Former Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Laws stood down from the Cabinet within weeks of taking office in the coalition Government after he admitted channelling public money in rent to his long-term male partner, later saying he had "paid a high price for trying to keep my sexuality a secret".

Mr Blunt is the son of Major General Peter Blunt and Adrienne, marrying his wife Victoria Jenkins in 1990. They have one son and one daughter.

Educated at Wellington College and then the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, he went on to have a successful military career before entering politics.

Mr Blunt was made special adviser to Defence Secretary Malcolm Rifkind in 1993, a role he continued as Mr Rifkind became Foreign Secretary in 1995. Two years later, he won the Reigate seat in Surrey and held shadow Ministerial posts before resigning in May 2003 and calling for a vote of no confidence in Mr Duncan Smith.