Britain’s Culture Secretary Maria Miller Resigns Amid Expense Scandal

Britain’s Culture Secretary Maria Miller has resigned, days after she was ordered by the House of Commons standard committee to apologize for her attitude during the parliamentary standards watchdog’s investigation of her expenses, the Guardian reports.

During yet another expense scandal which unfolded last week, Miller was asked to repay £5,800 ($9,708) in over-claimed expenses relating to the mortgage of her second home in Wimbledon, South West London. The house was purchased almost a decade before Miller’s election to Parliament in 2005.

Miller has been estranged from a part of the Tory party, which was staunchly opposed to the gay marriage she helped legalize. Her short apology wasn’t enough to save her place in the cabinet.

The resignation was described as a “blow” to Prime Minister David Cameron, who had asked journalists “to leave it there” on Friday.

Business minister Sajid Javid has been promoted to the cabinet to replace Miller.