BBC News with David Austin

In the last few minutes, the American State Department has issued a statement,

distancing itself from

comments made by its special envoy to Egypt about President Hosni Mubarak. The envoy, Frank Wisner, told an international security conference in Germany that Mr Mubarak was needed to

oversee

a transition to democracy.

"The president must stay in office in order to

steer those changes through

. I therefore believe that President Mubarak's continued leadership is critical. It's his opportunity to write his own

legacy

. He's given 60 years of his life to the service of his country. This is an ideal moment for him to show the way forward."

But the State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said Mr Wisner's views were his own and had not been

coordinate

d with the US government. Earlier, the top leaders of Egypt's governing National Democratic Party resigned, an apparent response to the ongoing anti-government protests. Among those who've stepped down is the president's son. The news comes as crowds of demonstrators have spent their 12th day in central Cairo demanding Mr Mubarak's immediate removal from power. Jon Leyne reports.

Faced with continuing pressure from the demonstrators, President Mubarak met with his new cabinet for the first time. Shortly afterwards, a series of major changes in the ruling party, the NDP, were announced. They included the