Maria Miller has resigned as culture secretary after a lengthy row over expenses, with the tourism industry expressing its sadness at the departure of a “strong representative.”
After intense media speculation over her position, Miller sent a letter of resignation to Prime Minister David Cameron early this morning.
In response, Cameron thanked her for serving in the cabinet and expressed the hope that she would be able to return “in due course.”
Miller had been at the centre of a row about expenses claimed to pay the mortgage of a house she owned in Wimbledon.
The Basingstoke MP was cleared of funding a home for her parents at taxpayers' expense, but was told to repay £5,800 of the expenses she claimed.
Previously, independent parliamentary commissioner for standards Kathryn Hudson had recommended she repay £45,000, but this overruled by the Commons Standards Committee.
As minister for the department of culture, media and sport, Miller was a key point of contact for the tourism industry and spoke last week at a to celebrate English tourism week
Westminster reception."We're sad to see Maria go, as in recent years the tourism industry has needed her strong representation to defend its interests in what is a junior department," said Kurt Janson, policy director at the Tourism Alliance.
"Maria deserves credit for protecting the Visit England budget from cuts in the last spending review and minimising the Visit Britain funding cut to five per cent – quite an achievement in light of the austerity measures we saw imposed on other government departments.
"Now it's just a case of waiting to see whether the Prime Minister will appoint a replacement in the short-term, or wait until the expected summer reshuffle."
