Greek crisis: Varoufakis to stand down as finance minister

Yanis Varoufakis is standing down as finance minister according to a post on his blog, in which he says that his absence from Eurogroup meetings could be helpful in reaching consensus about Greek bailout terms.

On his blog he says: "Soon after the announcement of the referendum results, I was made aware of a certain preference by some Eurogroup participants, and assorted 'partners', for my… 'absence' from its meetings; an idea that the Prime Minister judged to be potentially helpful to him in reaching an agreement. For this reason I am leaving the Ministry of Finance today."

The entry continues: " I consider it my duty to help Alexis Tsipras exploit, as he sees fit, the capital that the Greek people granted us through yesterday’s referendum.

"And I shall wear the creditors’ loathing with pride.

"We of the Left know how to act collectively with no care for the privileges of office. I shall support fully Prime Minister Tsipras, the new Minister of Finance, and our government."