'I was wrong to go when I did' - Blears.

HAZEL Blears apologised yesterday for the timing of her Cabinet walkout as she faced a battle to retain her seat.

The former Communities Secretary admitted she had been wrong to quit on the eve of last week's crucial elections, as it emerged activists in Salford will bid to deselect her next week.

In her first interview since her dramatic departure, Ms Blears tried to defuse anger by insisting the move was not part of a plot to oust Gordon Brown.

She said her position became untenable after Mr Brown described her failure to pay capital gains tax on the sale of a second home as "totally unacceptable".

She received backing from senior figures in her constituency association in the wake of the revelations.

However, Labour sources at Westminster confirmed that a deselection motion will be considered at a meeting of activists in Salford next Thursday.

In an interview with the Manchester Evening News, the Salford MP said she had not spoken to Cabinet colleagues, including James Purnell who quit the following day, about her plan to resign.

Ms Blears said she now realised she should not have walked out the day before the European and local elections.

"I genuinely thought I could go without it sparking off this huge firestorm," she said.

"In hindsight that judgment was wrong. I should have waited until after the election. The effect on the party is something I will live with for ever." Ms Blears ruled out a return to the Government, despite Mr Brown's professed hope that she would do so.

But she expressed remorse for her cutting remarks about his recent You- Tube appearance, in which he set out plans to reform MPs' expenses..