Another thieving politician caught?

[dutchman]

Maria Miller's expenses claims referred to police by Labour MP



Maria Miller is facing growing political pressure after a Labour MP referred her to the police and the parliamentary committee which examined her expenses reissued correspondence which showed how she attempted to fight off an investigation by the standards watchdog.

Labour sought to maintain the pressure on Miller as Thomas Docherty, the MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, wrote to the Metropolitan police calling for an investigation into Miller's expenses. Docherty wrote: "Given the widely differing conclusions of the commission and the committee regarding the serious allegations made about Mrs Miller and the fact that both the commission and committee feel that Mrs Miller did not co-operate with the inquiry, I believe this matter warrants further investigation and I believe the Metropolitan police are the appropriate body to carry out such an investigation."

As Nigel Farage accused David Cameron of a disastrous error of judgment in supporting the culture secretary, the prime minister called on the press to leave the matter alone. Farage told the Telegraph that he thought Miller should be repaying "multiples" of the amount she has been asked to. He added: "I think David Cameron has made a disastrous error of judgment with this … I think Cameron should have asked her to resign and if she hadn't resigned, he should have kicked her out."

[rebbonk]

Maria Miller's expenses claims referred to police by Labour MP

It couldn't happen to a 'nicer' person!

[dutchman]

Maria Miller should resign, say grassroots Conservatives



Grassroots Conservative party members have called on Maria Miller to resign and expressed serious concerns about how the affair was handled by David Cameron, the Prime Minister.

In a straw poll of 50 activists at the party’s spring forum in central London, 14 told the Telegraph the Culture Secretary should have stood down from the front bench - or been sacked - over her expenses claims.

A further 12 party members said they had other major reservations over the party’s conduct or the operation of the parliamentary standards committee.

Another 24 members approached following a keynote speech by Mr Cameron declined to comment on the affair.

Significantly, not one party member surveyed expressed support for Mrs Miller.

[rebbonk]

The thief ought not be given the option of resignation! If the Eton educated fool from No.10 had any, he'd have sacked her by now!

[dutchman]

British public want David Cameron to axe Maria Miller over expenses dodge



Culture Secretary Maria Miller should be thrown out of the Cabinet and be forced to give up her Commons seat as punishment for making false expenses claims, according to a Mail on Sunday poll.

Voters also want the embattled Minister to be stripped of her role in charge of introducing new press curbs following Lord Justice Leveson’s inquiry into media ethics.

The damning findings come from the first survey conducted since Mrs Miller was forced to pay back £5,800 over-claimed on her mortgage and apologise to the Commons on Thursday.

The results will pile pressure on David Cameron to do a U-turn over his refusal to sack her.

A senior Tory MP said last night that Mrs Miller was ‘dead in the water, politically speaking’ – and certain to be ditched in a Cabinet reshuffle before the summer.

‘It is natural for the PM to stand by her for now, but she will be gone by the party conference,’ said the MP.

A total of 78 per cent of those polled by Survation for The Mail on Sunday say Mrs Miller should lose her Cabinet seat.

Ominously, the number of Tories who think she should be fired as Culture Secretary is 82 per cent. Only one in ten say she should stay in the Cabinet.

The survey also emphasises that, five years after the MPs’ expenses scandal erupted, public fury over politicians thought to be ‘on the fiddle’ is as intense as ever.

Humiliatingly, most people believe that kicking Mrs Miller out of the Cabinet is not sufficient retribution: nearly seven out of ten say she should be made to quit as the MP for Basingstoke.

[rebbonk]

I'd go a lot further than what that survey discusses!

But as I say, don't expect the spineless creature from No.10 to stand up and be counted, or to give a fig what the public think he ought to do. Other people are pulling to twerp's strings, and he will do as he's told.

[dutchman]

I'd go a lot further than what that survey discusses!

I know Rebbonk but they've outlawed the burning of witches at the stake!

[rebbonk]

Courtesy of a friend....

[dutchman]

Maria Miller has done right thing, says David Cameron


His Highness the Prime Minister

David Cameron is continuing to stand by Culture Secretary Maria Miller, insisting she did the "right thing" by apologising to MPs for her attitude to an inquiry into her expenses.

Speaking on a visit to a supermarket in London, Mr Cameron said: "Maria Miller is in her job and she is doing a good job as culture secretary.

"Also, she went through this process and the committee found that she had made a mistake in her mortgage claims. She paid back money. She made an apology and that's the right thing to do."

Former Tory chairman Lord Tebbit has accused the minister of "arrogance" and called for her to resign.

But the prime minister said she should be left to get on with her job.

Few Conservatives have criticised Mrs Miller in public - with some believing she is the victim of a backlash prompted by her attitude to press regulation after the Leveson report.

But others - including Lord Tebbit - say she should have shown more contrition and have criticised her 32-second apology to MPs.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith told the BBC that Mrs Miller was suffering a backlash for being the minister responsible for getting the bill which brought in same-sex marriage - deeply unpopular with many Tories - through Parliament. He warned of a "witch-hunt" and said she deserved support.

Labour has accused Mr Cameron of letting Mrs Miller "off the hook", but has not called for her resignation.

Got to admire Cameron for standing by Miller at the expense of his entire party

[rebbonk]

Cameron will regret this.

I begin to wonder what Miller has on him...?