Michael quits Wales for Westminster

Alun Michael's short but chequered entanglement with Welsh devolution was finally over last night after he announced he would step down from the National Assembly.

The former First Secretary of Wales said that he was quitting his seat in the Assembly in May in order to concentrate on his career at Westminster.

Mr Michael's critics said his decision proved charges that he had never been interested in the devolution project and had acted simply as Tony Blair's placeman in the principality. The Tories accused him of betraying the voters of his Assembly seat in mid and west Wales and claimed he was "running back to London" to resurrect his ministerial career.

But government sources made clear last night that it was unlikely he would be found a post. "Politics is a tough old game," said one minister. Mr Michael resigned as First Secretary last month before losing a vote of no-confidence called over his failure to guarantee European aid for Wales' poorest regions.

Yesterday he claimed that he could best put his "energy to use" by carrying on at Westminster as a backbench MP for Cardiff South and Penarth.

His announcement follows a Labour edict that Assembly members who are also MPs must choose between the two jobs. In a comment obviously aimed at the former Welsh Secretary Ron Davies, he said a former leader on the backbenches in the Assembly could have a "negative and destructive influence" on the institution.

There will not be a by-election for Mr Michael's seat. The second candidate on Labour's list for the seat, Mr Michael's special adviser Delyth Evans, will take over.