British Prime Minister Tony Blair will make a statement on his long-expected departure from office Thursday, the government in London has confirmed, according to dpa. A spokesman said Blair would brief the cabinet about his "intentions" in the morning and later announce a timetable for his departure. Blair, 54, who last week marked his 10th anniversary as prime minister, is formally going to announce his resignation as Labour Party leader Thursday. That statement, which he is likely to make in his constituency of Sedgefield, in northern Britain, will trigger a seven-week party process to replace him as party leader, and as Prime Minister. His successor, most likely to be Gordon Brown, the 56-year-old Chancellor of the Exchequer, could be installed as prime minister by early July. Blair, under pressure from his party, announced last September that he would step down "within a year." But speaking during question time in parliament Wednesday, Blair made clear that he would remain "fully engaged" in international and domestic politics in the seven weeks until he finally steps down. He was responding to taunts in parliament by Conservative opposition leader David Cameron that Blair was presiding over a government of the "living dead" and should spare the country "another seven weeks of paralysis." Blair said he would "remain focused" on domestic policy issues and also planned to attend, as previously announced, the European Union summit, and the summit of G8 leaders, both to be held in Germany in June. A series of whistlestop visits by fellow European leaders, including possibly France's President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy, to London, was also likely. Blair's spokesman rejected that the notion that the British leader would be a "lame duck" prime minister during the seven-week interval. "The best reassurance you will have is actually seeing the prime minister in action," said the spokesman.
