David Blunkett could return to the Cabinet at a future date, Tony Blair has said.

Interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the prime minister praised his former home secretary as "a man of real integrity and real ambition".

Blair said he was also "very sad for him" when a row over a visa application by the nanny of Blunkett's former lover led to his resignation.

Asked if Blunkett could return to the Cabinet, Blair said: "I certainly hope he will at some point.

"The future will look after itself and I am not making any guarantees or making definitive statements, you can never tell what happens in politics, but I think he is someone with an immense amount to give to the country."

The prime minister also said the Budd inquiry which unearthed the information which led to his departure had not undermined the integrity of the former minister.

"The very reason he resigned was because of what happened, on the other hand I think that people do actually understand that he was trying to do the right thing."