CHARLES Kennedy last night confessed he had a drink problem and challenged his critics within the Liberal Democrat party to face him in a leadership battle.

In a dramatic statement, Mr Kennedy claimed to have won his secret battle with alcohol.

But he insisted he wanted to keep the job he has held for the past six years and said it was now only fair to give Lib Dem members the opportunity to vote him out of office.

After weeks of rumours that Mr Kennedy's job was on the line because of discontent among fellow MPs, he appeared in front of the cameras at his party's HQ.

He said: "Over the past 18 months, I've been coming to terms with and seeking to cope with a drinking problem, and I've come to learn through that process that a drink problem is a serious problem indeed.

"It's serious for yourself and it's serious for those around you. I've sought professional help and I believe, today, that this issue is essentially resolved."

He said he had not had a drink for the past two months and did not intend to do so in future.

Two of the potential leadership front-runners swiftly ruled themselves out of a race against Mr Kennedy.

Foreign affairs spokesman Sir Menzies Campbell and home affairs spokesman Mark Oaten said they would take no part in the ballot.

Party president Simon Hughes said he would make no announcement on whether he would stand until he had fulfilled his official function in chairing the committee overseeing the election arrangements.

Former Newcastle City councillor Lembit Opik, the party's Northern Ireland spokesman and leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, strongly supported Mr Kennedy.

Mr Opik said: "He hasn't resigned with dignity, he has decided to carry on with courage and dignity. What he has done, though, is taken the taboo out of the problems of alcoholism."

Last night, Lib Dems from the region applauded Mr Kennedy for confessing his alcohol problems.

Robert Adamson, twice a parliamentary candidate in Darlington and recently appointed a deputy president of the national party, said: "All credit to him for his courage in admitting it to himself and admitting it publicly, because I think that's part of the rehabilitation process."

But he stopped short of backing Mr Kennedy in a leadership election.

Chris Foote Wood, leader of the Lib Dems on Wear Valley District Council, in County Durham, said: "I think Charles has been a first-class leader who has given us our best results for three-quarters of a century."