Dutch ministers Opstelten and Teeven quit over payment to drug-trafficker

Dutch Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten and his State Secretary, Fred Teeven, have resigned after misleading parliament over a 2001 compensation payment to a convicted drug trafficker.

Mr Opstelten says the trafficker was paid less than he actually was for money wrongly confiscated by the state.

He also said details of the payment - authorised by Mr Teeven as prosecutor - was missing, but this was not so.

The resignations are a blow to the Liberal party as it faces an election. 

Mr Opstelten and Mr Teeven are both from the conservative wing of the party, which faces a challenge from Geert Wilders' far-right Freedom Party in provincial elections this month.

The resignations are also expected to place a strain on the Liberal's coalition with the Labour party, which has been very critical of Mr Opstelten and Mr Teeven.

BBC