Knut Storberget Resigns as Norway's Minister of Justice

Scandal-plagued Minister Steps Down

Knut Storberget, Norway's Minister of Justice, has resigned amid a growing scandal over his handling of a terror threat assessment.

Storberget has been under fire since it was revealed that he had ignored warnings from the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) about the threat posed by Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in a bombing and shooting spree in Oslo and Utoya in July 2011.

Mounting Pressure

The pressure on Storberget to resign has been mounting in recent weeks, with opposition politicians calling for his dismissal and the PST chief questioning his judgment.

In a statement, Storberget said that he had decided to resign in order to "take responsibility for the mistakes that have been made."

"I have always acted in what I believed to be the best interests of the country," Storberget said. "However, I now realize that my judgment was flawed."

Calls for Independent Inquiry

Opposition politicians have welcomed Storberget's resignation but have also called for an independent inquiry into the handling of the terror threat assessment.

"This is a serious matter that needs to be investigated thoroughly," said Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg. "We need to know what went wrong and how we can prevent something like this from happening again."

PST Chief's Criticism

PST chief Janne Kristiansen has been critical of Storberget's handling of the terror threat assessment, saying that he had ignored warnings from the agency about Breivik.

"We warned the government about Breivik," Kristiansen said. "But our warnings were not taken seriously."

Storberget's Defense

Storberget has defended his handling of the terror threat assessment, saying that he had made the best decision he could with the information he had at the time.

"I did not ignore the warnings from the PST," Storberget said. "I took them seriously, but I did not believe that Breivik posed an imminent threat."

Public Inquiry

The Norwegian government has ordered a public inquiry into the handling of the terror threat assessment.

The inquiry will be led by former Supreme Court Justice Alexandra Bech Gjørv.

The inquiry is expected to report its findings in early 2013.