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Australian deputy prime minister resigns from Cabinet, remains in parliament

Barnaby Joyce, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, stands in a paddock on a property on the outskirts of the township of Merriwa, located north-west of Sydney, in the electorate of New England, in Australia, March 29, 2016. Picture taken March 29, 2016. AAP/Lukas Coch/via REUTERS

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said on Friday he will resign as leader of his party and will move to the backbench after weeks of pressure over an extra-marital affair with his former media secretary. Joyce said he will step down on Monday as leader of the National party, the junior partner in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's centre-right coalition. He will remain in parliament, safeguarding Turnbull's shaky one-seat majority. Joyce, a practising Catholic, has been married for 24 years and has campaigned on "family values". (Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Paul Tait)