PM reiterates his support for Miller
Cameron brushes off claims that
culture secretary in expenses row has kept her job because of shortage
of women in cabinet
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Latest“Therese Coffey, the Conservative MP, was defending Maria Miller on the Daily Politics. She said rejected suggestions that Miller was only keeping her…” Andrew Sparrow's live blog
- Top Tories pile pressure on Miller
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Editorial: clemency in club Cameron
David Cameron reiterates his support for Maria Miller
PM brushes off claims that culture secretary in expenses row has kept her job because of shortage of females in cabinet - theguardian.com,
Maria Miller, the
culture secretary, who is under increasing pressure in the row over her
expenses claims. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA
David Cameron has reiterated his support for his embattled culture secretary, Maria Miller, who is under increasing pressure in the row over her expenses claims.
The prime minister on Monday brushed off claims that Miller had kept her job because of the shortage of female faces around the cabinet table, saying she was doing a good job.
Cameron also said he was open to suggestions about how the system of policing MPs' expenses could be improved.
He said reforms to the expenses system that brought in the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) were "very important".
During a visit to an Asda store in Clapham, south London, he added: "If there are further changes that people think are appropriate, I'm very open to suggestions."
Asked about polling that showed that most Tories believed Miller should be out of a job, he said: "What matters is doing the right thing. I think Maria has done the right thing by repaying the money, making an apology and now getting on with her job.
"We ought to remember she was found innocent of the claim that was levelled at her at the start of this process. I think that is important to bear in mind."
Asked if Miller was still in her post because she was a state-educated woman, he replied: "Maria Miller is in her job because she is doing a good job as culture secretary."
His comments came as Labour MP Sheila Gilmore made a formal complaint to the standards committee over Miller's Commons statement.
In a letter to Kevin Baron, chairman of the committee, she said Miller's apology was "inadequate to the point of being contemptuous of your committee's report and the members' code of conduct".
The prime minister on Monday brushed off claims that Miller had kept her job because of the shortage of female faces around the cabinet table, saying she was doing a good job.
Cameron also said he was open to suggestions about how the system of policing MPs' expenses could be improved.
He said reforms to the expenses system that brought in the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) were "very important".
During a visit to an Asda store in Clapham, south London, he added: "If there are further changes that people think are appropriate, I'm very open to suggestions."
Asked about polling that showed that most Tories believed Miller should be out of a job, he said: "What matters is doing the right thing. I think Maria has done the right thing by repaying the money, making an apology and now getting on with her job.
"We ought to remember she was found innocent of the claim that was levelled at her at the start of this process. I think that is important to bear in mind."
Asked if Miller was still in her post because she was a state-educated woman, he replied: "Maria Miller is in her job because she is doing a good job as culture secretary."
His comments came as Labour MP Sheila Gilmore made a formal complaint to the standards committee over Miller's Commons statement.
In a letter to Kevin Baron, chairman of the committee, she said Miller's apology was "inadequate to the point of being contemptuous of your committee's report and the members' code of conduct".
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