Published: 29 May 2010
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DAVID Laws has quit as Treasury chief after it emerged he channelled thousands in Commons expenses to his secret gay lover.
Lib Dem Scottish secretary Danny Alexander will take over from him, Downing Street announced last night.
Mr Laws's resignation comes as the first major blow to the Tory-Lib Dem coalition.
In a statement, Mr Laws said: "I do not see how I can carry out my crucial work on the budget and spending review while I have to deal with the private and public implications of recent revelations."
Prime Minister David Cameron described Mr Laws as "an honourable man", telling him: "I hope that, in time, you will be able to serve again."
Supportive ... PM David Cameron and deputy Nick Clegg
This morning, deputy PM Nick Clegg said he had "enormous respect" for his colleague's "dignity and integrity".
He said: "My admiration for him has only grown as I have seen how he has dealt with the cruel pressures of the last 24 hours.
"There are clearly questions that David himself acknowledges must now be answered about his own expenses.
"When these questions have been addressed, I very much hope that there will be an opportunity for him to rejoin the Government."
Mr Laws's resignation came after it was revealed he had paid £40,000 of taxpayers' money to Jamie Lundy, the man he had been dating since 2001.
There are clearly questions that must now be answered about David's expensesDeputy PM Nick Clegg
The couple had kept their relationship secret from everyone, including family and friends.
Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith today said Mr Laws was a "thoroughly decent person".
But he added: "I think on balance he is right. If you have got the toughest job in Government to try and find the savings, you cannot be beset by personal problems."
In his resignation letter, Mr Laws wrote: "The last 24 hours have been very difficult and distressing for me.
"I have been thinking carefully about what action I should take in the interests of the Government, my constituents and — most important of all — those whom I love.
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Responding to the letter, Mr Cameron wrote: "The last 24 hours must have been extraordinarily difficult and painful for you.
"You are a good and honourable man. I am sure that, throughout, you have been motivated by wanting to protect your privacy rather than anything else.
"Your decision to resign from the Government demonstrates the importance you attach to your integrity.
"In your short time at the Treasury, you have made a real difference, setting the Government on the right path to tackle the deficit which poses such a risk to our economy."
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2992831/Laws-quits-over-expenses-scandal.html#ixzz0pQR2S9AC
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