German minister quits after death of stepdaughter and political attacks

Fragile coalition suffers another blow as labour minister and co-leader of SPD Barbel Bas leaves both posts

Germany's labour minister and co-leader of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), Barbel Bas, has quit both posts, citing the death of her stepdaughter and subsequent political attacks against her, in a stinging blow to the fragile coalition government.

After my stepdaughter's death, I realised that I need time to come to terms with my grief," Bas said in a statement posted on Facebook, without giving further details.