Image copyright Bart Maat Image caption Mr Van de Steur's resignation puts pressure on the Dutch government

Dutch Justice Minister Ard van der Steur has resigned in a row over a 2001 compensation payment to a convicted drug trafficker.

His departure is regarded as a blow to the government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

His centre-right Liberal Party (VVD) is trailing in opinion polls ahead of a general election in March.

Mr van de Steur is the third member of Mr Rutte's government to resign over the scandal.

Former Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten and his junior minister, Fred Teeven, resigned in 2015 after misleading parliament over the 2001 deal.

The affair revolves around a deal prosecutors reached with a drug trafficker, Cees Helman, worth €2m (£1.7m; $2.1m).

Mr van de Steur has been criticised for his role in answers provided to parliament over the issue.

He has denied advising certain information be withheld.

PM Rutte has also come under fire from opposition politicians.

The Freedom Party, led by anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders, is leading public opinion polls.</s>The Dutch security and justice minister has resigned amid reports that he was involved in withholding information from lawmakers. Security and Justice Minister Ard van der Steur quit on Thursday night, days after evidence emerged that he was involved in drafting responses to questions about a deal prosecutors made with a drug trafficker in 2000.

The alleged actions happened in 2015, when he was still a lawmaker. Van der Steur says he made comments about the written responses, but denied advising that information be withheld from parliament.The allegations pose a potentially damaging blow to the administration of Prime Minister Mark Rutte less than two months before national elections. Opposition lawmakers used a debate in the lower house of the Dutch parliament to attack the Van der Steur and Rutte’s credibility.</s>The Hague: Seven weeks before the general elections in the Netherlands, Dutch Minister of Security and Justice Ard van der Steur has quit his post.

The move came on Thursday after a debate in parliament following new allegations on a controversial crime deal, Xinhua news agency reported.

Van der Steur said he did not feel the confidence of the members of the parliament any more and that he did not want to wait for a possible motion of no confidence.

The debate therefore ended with the minister resigning.

"I already took my decision, but I wanted to do this debate to defend myself against false accusations," Van der Steur told the parliament.

According to revelations in a book by journalist Bas Haan, Van der Steur misinformed the parliament on knowledge he had about an amount of money paid in a crime deal.

Van der Steur claimed the revelation did not contain new information and that he never had the intention to hide something, but opposition parties claimed he wanted to fool members of parliament.

Van der Steur is not the first political victim of the "Teeven deal", a controversial deal with a convicted drug lord which dates back to 2001.

In exchange for information on an even bigger drug lord, Fred Teeven, the public prosecutor at the time had given 4.7 million Dutch guilders ($2.24 million) to criminal Cees H., who led a drugs syndicate in the eighties and nineties.

At that time, the deal was kept secret from the tax services.

Van der Steur's predecessor Ivo Opstelten and Teeven, who was State Secretary of Justice, stepped down in March 2015 following misinformation on the settlement.

In December 2015, an investigation committee slammed the controversial deal, stating it should not have been struck.

Following a report by the commission, Anouchka van Miltenburg, at that time president of one of the chambers of the Dutch parliament, the House of Representatives, also stepped down.

Her role had been blasted because she had put a letter from an anonymous bell-ringer, in which all the details of the Teeven deal were pointed out into a shredder, and denied any knowledge of the deal against the commission.

For Van der Steur, a period of no longer than two years as minister comes to an end. It was not the first time he came into trouble since his appointment in March 2015.

In April last year, the 47-year-old had already survived a vote of no confidence during a fierce debate on the fight to end terrorism.

The opposition parties questioned whether the terrorism fight was in good hands with Van der Steur after he had made a series of mistakes and had given misinformation.

Stef Blok, currently acting as Minister for Housing and the Central Government Sector, will replace Van der Steur.</s>THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch security and justice minister resigned Thursday amid allegations that he was involved in withholding information from lawmakers, a potentially damaging blow to the administration of Prime Minister Mark Rutte less than two months before a national election.

Security and Justice Minister Ard van der Steur quit days after a new book presented evidence of his involvement in drafting responses to Parliament’s questions about a deal prosecutors made with a drug trafficker in 2000.

Opposition lawmakers used a debate on the still-disputed deal in the lower house of Parliament Thursday to attack the credibility not only of Van der Steur, but also of his political boss, Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Populist anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders, whose Party for Freedom is riding high in polls ahead of the March 15 election, called Rutte “by a long way, the most untrustworthy premier the Netherlands has had in a long time.”

The deal at the heart of the discussion happened 17 years ago and involved a convicted drug trafficker who was paid millions of guilders by prosecutors who said they actually were trying to strip him of his criminal profits.

The long-running controversy has been a thorn in the side of Rutte’s government. A previous justice minister and his deputy quit over their roles in the scandal.

Van der Steur’s alleged actions happened in 2015, when he was still a lawmaker. Van der Steur said he made annotations to a draft of written responses to lawmakers’ questions, but denied advising the government to withhold any information from Parliament.

Van der Steur choked with emotion as he told lawmakers that he wanted to use Thursday’s debate to defend himself before quitting, saying that his ministry and others in the Dutch security services need a minister who enjoys the full trust of Parliament.

“I don’t feel that trust,” he said.

Rutte, who defended the minister during the debate, patted Van der Steur on the back and hugged him as he left the chamber.

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 WTOP is now using Facebook as our comment platform. Need help? Email us</s>THE HAGUE, Netherlands - The Dutch security and justice minister resigned Thursday amid allegations that he was involved in withholding information from lawmakers, a potentially damaging blow to the administration of Prime Minister Mark Rutte less than two months before a national election. Security and Justice Minister Ard van der Steur quit days after a new book presented evidence of his involvement in drafting responses to Parliament's questions about a deal prosecutors made with a drug trafficker in 2000.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Washington Post.</s>This file photo taken on April 21, 2016 shows Dutch Minister of Security and Justice Gerard Adriaan Ard van der Steur giving a press conference in Luxembourg. — AFP pic

THE HAGUE, Jan 27 — Dutch Justice Minister Ard van der Steur resigned yesterday as an old scandal over 2.1 million euros paid by prosecutors to a drug baron returned to haunt Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s ruling party.

“I’m handing in my resignation to his Majesty the King (Willem-Alexander). Thank you,” an emotional Van der Steur said after a six-hour grilling by opposition parties.

Van der Steur is the fourth high-profile parliamentarian from the Liberal VVD party to resign since March 2015, in a move that could damage the premier’s bid for re-election in general elections now less than seven weeks away.

The controversy involves a deal by former VVD deputy justice minister Fred Teeven 17 years ago with a notorious trafficker called Cees H.

The criminal was paid back millions of guilders — previously seized in an investigation — through bank accounts in Luxembourg without tax authorities being informed in 2001.

The authorities unable to prove the money seized was linked to drug trafficking and so most of it was returned to Cees H.

In March 2015, both Teeven, then deputy justice minister and his boss, Ivo Opstelten resigned after they were called out by parliament for not releasing the amount involved in the deal: 4.7 million guilders (RM9.94 million).

In December, Lower House Speaker Anouchka van Miltenburg also resigned after opposition parties accused her too of withholding information.

Yesterday evening, Van der Steur was next to face the wrath of opposition MPs, who sniffed an opportunity to take a stab at Rutte’s party before some 12.6 million voters flock to the polls on March 15.

A forlorn-looking Van der Steur fended off accusations that he too deliberately kept the amount from lawmakers at the time of Teeven and Opstelten’s resignation to protect his VVD cabinet colleagues.

MPs said Van der Steur advised Opstelten not to disclose the amount in an explanation letter sent to parliament at the time.

“Because of your intervention the figures were omitted from the answer. You should have simply informed the Lower House,” far-right politician Geert Wilders told Van der Steur.

“Instead you made fools of us,” said Wilders, who is currently leading opinion polls on an anti-immigration and anti-Muslim ticket.

He also took aim at Rutte, whom he described as the “godfather of a Mafia-like party.”

Van der Steur admitted he should have never been involved in advising Opstelten, but vehemently denied wrongdoing.

“I came to defend myself against these accusations which are unfounded and not based on facts,” he said before stepping down, hugging Rutte and rushing out of parliament in a blaze of flashing cameras.

An emotional Rutte briedly faced journalists afterwards, saying “it was a fight we couldn’t win.”

“I respect his decision,” added Rutte, whose party is trailing second in the latest polls behind Wilders’ Freedom Party.

The Dutch vote sets off a “super election year” in Europe, which experts said will be closely watched on the backdrop of the rise in populist far-right parties, buoyed by migration fears and anti-EU scepticism. — AFP</s>AMSTERDAM, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A leading member of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's cabinet resigned on Thursday, weakening the government ahead of a national election in March in which it is trailing in the polls.

Justice Minister Ard van der Steur unexpectedly told parliament he would step down amid a debate over the handling of information relating to a settlement prosecutors struck with a drug dealer in 2000.

The affair centres around a settlement with drug baron Cees Helman, who received a tax free payment of around 2 million euros as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

It resurfaced earlier this month following new allegations in a book that detailed an internal email that appeared to show Van der Steur had sought to conceal details of the scandal.

Van der Steur and Rutte had come under fire from opposition lawmakers who accuse them of withholding information and had been expected to call a motion of no confidence later in the debate. The minister took the rare step of resigning before the motion was submitted.

"I told the prime minister I would make a decision after the first round of the debate. I wanted to defend myself against unfounded and unfair accusations that are not based on facts. I will tender my resignation to his majesty the king," Van der Steur said.

The departure of Van der Steur, who is also a member of Rutte's conservative VVD party, was an unwelcome embarrassment ahead of the March 15 election and could dent its popularity.

Rutte is trailing anti-Islam politician and Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders, who is leading public opinion polls.

Wilders called Rutte and Van der Steur liars who "consciously chose to conceal the facts."

"It is ... the latest incident with this failing prime minister and his bungling justice minister," Wilders told the 150-seat lower house. "The sooner this cabinet of lies and deceit is gone, the better," he said.

Wilders cited an opinion poll from Wednesday showing that more than two-thirds of respondents believed Rutte knew parliament had been misinformed.

The minister is the third member of Rutte's liberal VVD party to resign over the scandal since 2015. (Reporting By Anthony Deutsch and Toby Sterling; Editing by Alison Williams and Dominic Evans)</s>AMSTERDAM: A leading member of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's cabinet resigned on Thursday, weakening the government ahead of a national election in March in which it is trailing in the polls.

Justice Minister Ard van der Steur unexpectedly told parliament he would step down amid a debate over the handling of information relating to a settlement prosecutors struck with a drug dealer in 2000.

The affair centres around a settlement with drug baron Cees Helman, who received a tax free payment of around 2 million euros as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

Van der Steur and Rutte have come under fire from opposition lawmakers who accuse them of withholding information and had been expected to call a motion of no confidence later in the debate. The minister took the rare step of resigning before the motion was submitted.

"I told the prime minister I would make a decision after the first round of the debate. I wanted to defend myself against unfounded and unfair accusations that are not based on facts. I will tender my resignation to his majesty the king," he said.

The minister is the third member of Rutte's liberal VVD party to resign over the scandal since 2015.

The departure of Van der Steur, who is also a member of Rutte's conservative VVD party, was an unwelcome embarrassment ahead of the March 15 election and could dent its popularity.

Rutte is trailing anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders' Freedom Party, who is leading public opinion polls.
Ard van der Steur the Minister of Security and Justice of the Netherlands resigns after allegedly misinforming the House of Representatives over the fallout of a payments scandal.