BLACKBURN MP Jack Straw has spoken of his sympathy for beleaguered cabinet colleague Tessa Jowell claiming people should not be hounded over allegations about their families.

Ms Jowell's husband David Mills is currently being investigated by Italian authorities over alleged financial dealing with their Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The situation prompted the couple to separate at the weekend and the Foreign Secretary said he knew how she would be feeling.

And he took the unusual step of drawing on his experience of family members being in the spotlight to give his support to the culture secretary.

Mr Straw's son appeared in the Daily Mirror over allegations that he sold cannabis to an undercover reporter.

And Mr Straw said: "I have great sympathy for her over her marriage split and it is awful when you have to go through these terrible problems in the media spotlight.

"My family had some small experience of this over our problems with my son Will and his difficulties with the Daily Mirror and cannabis some eight years ago.

"I don't think Tessa should go because of her husband's business affairs.

"She is a very fine minister and a very nice woman. She does an excellent job."

The couple's separation drew cynical comments that the move was a PR stunt.

But Mr Straw added: "I think suggestions that the separation with her husband is a matter of convenience is just disgusting and grotesque.

"I think there is a question here that people should not be hounded out of public life because their families may have done something wrong. There is no evidence that she or her husband have done anything wrong."

Ribble Valley Tory MP Nigel Evans, however, has been leading calls for Ms Jowell to go.

He claims she broke the ministerial code of conduct by not declaring a £350,000 gift' her husband received from Mr Berlusconi.

The Government has dismissed that claim.

But Mr Evans said: "She should have gone on Thursday night when Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell said that the £350,000 gift was declarable under the Ministerial Code of Conduct.

"You can't have a Ministerial Code with an emergency exit that says I didn't know; I didn't ask therefore I didn't declare'.

"The Prime Minister can keep the Ministerial Code or he can keep Mrs Jowell. He can't keep both."