Maria Miller, the minister who oversaw future regulation of Britain's newspapers, quit her cabinet post on Wednesday following a row over expenses linked to a mortgage. Miller said she took "full responsibility" for her decision to stand down as culture secretary, saying she feared she had become a "distraction" for voters who are set to go to the polls in European elections next month.
She had faced days of pressure from the main opposition Labour Party, and growing criticism from her Conservative Party colleagues, over payments for a loan on a home in Wimbledon, south London. Her resignation eases pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron, who had come under fire for giving Miller strong backing over the issue. In his weekly question-and-answer session in parliament, Cameron faced accusations from Labour leader Ed Miliband that he had "undermined trust in politics" with his approach to the row.
Cameron insisted he had been happy to let Miller continue in her job after a parliamentary committee had cleared her of the more serious charge that she had funded a home for her parents at taxpayers' expense. "I thought it was right, in those circumstances, to allow her to make her apology and continue with her job," the prime minister said. He accused Miliband of "jumping on this bandwagon after the whole circus has left town".
The independent parliamentary commissioner for standards found Miller should pay back £45,000 ($75,400, 54,600 euros) for expenses she overclaimed on her mortgage, but that was cut to £5,800 by a committee of lawmakers. Miller oversaw the ongoing negotiations on creating a new system of regulation for Britain's famously aggressive newspapers that resulted from a public inquiry into press standards.
She also steered through the legislation that ushered in gay marriage. Asked if she believed she had been the victim of a media witch-hunt due to her role in implementing the recommendations of the press standards inquiry, Miller said in a television interview: "I fully accept the findings of the parliamentary report. This is about that."
In a sign of public anger towards members of parliament abusing the expenses system, more than 185,000 people had signed an online petition calling for Miller to pay back the larger sum or resign. On Tuesday, she told her local newspaper she was "devastated" by the furore over her expenses and that she had "let down" her constituents, but stopped short of resigning at that point.
Two-thirds of Conservative Party members believed she should stand down, according to a poll published shortly before she quit. She was replaced by Sajid Javid, considered a rising star of the Conservative Party, who was promoted to the cabinet from the number three role in the finance ministry.
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