1.
LV Maudling off aircraft greeted
0.08

2.
CU Maudling
0.11

3.
SV Military police in Ulster street
0.15

4.
SV Maudling chats to British troops
0.21

5.
CU Maudling moves away
0.20

6.
LV House of flags (Union Jacks)
0.29

7.
LV Maudling leaves house to cheers
0.37

8.
SV Women singing Protestant protest songs.
0.42

9.
LV Stormont Castle
0.45

10.
SV Maudling arrives in car and enters (2 shots)
0.56



Initials BB/0300 TH/PW/BB/0230



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: The Deputy leader of Britain's conservative Government, Mr. Reginald Maudling, today (Tuesday) resigned his ministerial post. He stops down as Home Secretary to clear the way for a police investigation into charges of financial corruption by civil servants.

Mr. Maudling's resignation follows political embarrassment arising from a recent bankruptcy hearing, where charges of corruption were made against certain public figures.

Mr. Maudling's name was mentioned during the hearing--it was revealed that as unpaid chairman of a company he had asked for money to be donated to a certain charity. No aspersions were cast on Mr. Maudling's integrity. But as Home Secretary--the man in charge of British police affairs--it was embarrassing for him to instigate a police investigation into a case during which his name had been mentioned.

News of the resignation was broken by Prime Minister Edward Heath today. He said that Mr. Maudling had turned down the offer of another government post. But he remains a member of Parliament.

Twice in the past Mr. Maudling has been in the running for the leadership of the conservative Party. And many party members still regard him as the only real alternative leader to Mr. Heath.

He had been home Secretary since the conservative Government took office in June, 1970. In this post, he had the tough decision of sending thousands of British troops to Northern Ireland to keep the peace between Protestants and Catholics. Out library film shows him visiting the troops in Belfast within a month of taking office.