Digital minister Tom Watson used Twitter toannounce his resignationon Friday, it has
emerged.
Watson spent 18 months at the Cabinet Office and
spoke often on IT-related issues.
Watson used a
posting on the
micro-blogging site to link to a letter written to Gordon Brown. He
wrote, "I promised, Twitter friends, you'd get it first."
News of the Cabinet minister's resignation broke last week but
was not confirmed until Friday, when Watson posted details on his
blog.
Watson set up the Power of Information Task Force, which exists
to advance the recommendations of the Power of Information Report,
by Ed Mayo and Tom Steinberg, into the social and economic gains
that could be achieved from better use of government data.
The Cabinet Office recently announced it is
considering launching a website similar to the US's data.gov,
which would make large data sets available to the public.
Watson said in his letter to Gordon Brown, "I would like to
think that I have helped our government to think about information
in new and better ways. I have tried to be a champion for the
digital community, where lie some of our best and brightest talents
and much of our nation's future success."
He attributed his resignation to the "painful" pressure that his
high-profile job had placed on his young family.