Schill took office on anti-crime ticket

Ronald Schill, known as "Judge Merciless", was fired after allegedly threatening to reveal details of the Hamburg mayor's private life.

Mr Schill, who denies making the threats, was minister for internal affairs in Hamburg.

A close aide, Walter Wellinghausen, was also fired.

Mr Wellinghausen had been accused of attempting to use his political role to benefit his business interests.

I have dismissed Mr Schill - I felt forced to dismiss him because Schill's character is not suited to the office Ole von Beust Hamburg Mayor

But the row reached boiling point when Mr Schill said he would expose details of the private life of Mayor Ole von Beust if Mr Wellinghausen were sacked.

Mr Von Beust said Mr Schill's threatened allegations centred on an alleged affair with a male Hamburg politician, an allegation he said was untrue.

He described the alleged threat as "outrageous".

"I have dismissed Mr Schill," the Christian Democrat mayor told a news conference. "I felt forced to dismiss him because Schill's character is not suited to the office."

Election triumph

Mr Schill's Law and Order Offensive Party has been part of Hamburg's ruling coalition since September 2001.

It was elected on a tough anti-crime ticket which included cracking down on the city's drugs problem.

The pledges won him 19.4% of the vote, contributing to the ousting of the Social Democrats who had held power in the city since 1957.

But critics have accused him of racism and of pursuing extreme policies.

The party failed to win a seat in the national parliament in elections last year.

Correspondents say it is possible that the sacking of Mr Schill could lead to the collapse of the city's right-wing governing coalition.