IMPEACH BUSH

The US housing secretary has resigned amid claims he misused his position.

Critics had been calling for Alphonso Jackson to step down since an FBI investigation into claims of cronyism in awarding housing contracts began.

His resignation comes as the US housing market suffers a slump, with falling prices and high foreclosure rates.

Mr Jackson, who became President George W Bush's top housing official in 2004, said he was stepping down for personal reasons. He leaves office on 18 April.

The BBC's Jack Izzard in Washington says Mr Jackson is resigning as housing and urban development secretary as the country's housing industry faces its worst crisis in years.

Mr Bush, who has been a friend of Mr Jackson's for 20 years, once described him as a "great American success story", our correspondent adds.

Mr Jackson is the latest senior Bush administration official to step down in recent months. Others have included White House adviser Karl Rove and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Bush regret

Announcing his resignation, Mr Jackson said he was leaving "to attend more diligently to personal and family matters" and made no direct mention of the ongoing FBI investigation.

He said he had spent more than 30 years helping to improve housing opportunities for Americans from all backgrounds.

"My life's work has been to build better communities that families are proud to call home," he said.

In a statement issued by the White House, Mr Bush said he had accepted Mr Jackson's resignation "with regret".

"I have known Alphonso Jackson for many years, and I have known him to be a strong leader and a good man," he said.

Their friendship dates back to the late 1980s, when they lived in the same neighbourhood in Dallas, Texas.

'Distraction'

The FBI inquiry, revealed last October, centres on ties between Mr Jackson and a friend who was paid $392,000 by his department as a construction manager in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

A lawsuit has also been filed by the housing agency in Philadelphia, which alleges that Mr Jackson tried to penalise the agency for blocking a deal involving a friend of his.

In spring 2006, Mr Jackson sparked an internal investigation when he said publicly that he had taken back a contract because the recipient said he did not like Mr Bush. No evidence was found that he had acted illegally.

A number of Democratic lawmakers had called for his resignation in recent weeks, saying the questions over his dealings were a distraction when the housing industry was in serious trouble.

Senator Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said he hoped "this change in personnel will be matched by a change in policy that brings real solutions to the housing crisis".