15 March 2012 Last updated at 04:25 GMT
China has removed prominent politician Bo Xilai
from his post as Chongqing's Communist Party
leader, state news agency Xinhua reports.
The 62-year-old was a strong contender for
promotion to China's top rungs when the party
changes its leadership later this year.
However, a scandal erupted when his former chief of
police spent a day at a United States consulate last
month.
Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang will replace Mr Bo, said
the Xinhua report.
The move comes just a day after the end of the
country's annual parliamentary session, the National
People's Congress (NPC), when Mr Bo's absence from
a meeting sparked speculations about his future.
After a long silence, he spoke last week about the
incident with ex-police chief Wang Lijun, answering
questions from journalists at a meeting on the
sidelines of the NPC.
He said he had not imagined Mr Wang would run off.
It came suddenly, Mr Bo said.
"I feel like I put my trust in the wrong person," he
added, speaking at a meeting of Chongqing delegates
to the parliament, officially called the National
People's Congress (NPC).
Mr Wang's visit to the US consulate in the city of
Chengdu sparked rumours that he had intended to
defect. State media reported that he was on vacation
to recuperate from stress.
Mr Wang, who led the crackdown on organised crime
in Chongqing that propelled both him and his boss into
the limelight, was later placed under police
investigation for the incident.
'Western-style' politician
Premier Wen Jiabao, answering a question at a news
conference on Wednesday at the closing of the NPC
session, said ''progress'' had been made in the
investigations, but did not reveal details.
He said local authorities must ''seriously'' reflect and
learn from the incident and that Beijing regarded this
''very seriously''.
Reactions to the brief announcement of Mr Bo's
removal from his post in state media have been swift.
The news spread quickly and has already fuelled
thousands of posts on Sina Weibo this morning.
"Swift and thorough! The ultra-leftish stronghold has
finally come to an end. It's a big fortune for China, a
big fortune for the people!" posted a writer for
Xinhua.com, Wang Ruogu.
Bo Xilai is the nearest thing China has to a Western-
style politician, correspondents say.
Like China's leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping, he is the son
of a famous communist hero, but he has gone on to
forge his own unique public personality.
Correspondents say the suave and charismatic Mr Bo
seems at home in front of the cameras and appears to
enjoy pushing his policies in public.
He ran the big coastal city of Dalian and then became
commerce minister, before moving to the post in
Chongqing, a sprawling city in western China.