HARRODS SCANDAL BRINGS DOWN U.K. ETHICS CHIEF

The Harrods scandal has caused this week's second resignation by a British official amid allegations that he accepted favors from the department store. This time it's Neil Hamilton, the government's Corporate Affairs Minister who oversees business ethics. Last Thursday, Northern Ireland Minister Tim Smith quit after he admitted taking a payoff from Harrods before carrying water for the department store in Parliament. Hamilton, however, is going out swinging, insisting he did nothing wrong and threatening to sue The Guardian -- the paper that broke the scandal. His resignation may be good news for scandal-plagued Prime Minister John Major. Explains TIME London reporter Helen Gibson: "Now, Hamilton can fight his own battle without bringing down the government.Ó