British Treasury Minister Kitty Ussher has tendered her resignation from office, becoming the latest victim of the ongoing expenses row.
British Treasury Minister Kitty Ussher has tendered her resignation from office, becoming the latest victim of the ongoing expenses row.
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Ussher resigned last night amid reports that she avoided paying capital gains tax when she sold one of her houses in 2007. However, she denied she did anything wrong and said she was stepping aside to prevent the Gordon Brown government embarrassment.
Ussher announced that she would also not contest the next election.
In her resignation letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Ussher said: "It is with the greatest regret I have decided to resign from the government. After careful consideration I arrived at this decision because I do not want to cause you or the government any embarrassment."
"I did not do anything wrong...Neither have I abused the allowance system of the House of Commons in any way," she added.
Ussher was elected to Parliament in 2005 but rose to serve as City Minister and in the Work and Pensions Department before getting her most recent role in the reshuffle earlier this month.
Ussher joins several leading lights of the Labour government who recently resigned from office in the wake of their controversial expenses being published in the media as the issue continues to haunt the corridors of Westminster.
Many MPs across the political spectrum have faced ignominy due to the public revelations of their expenses and have decided not to contest the next elections due in mid-2010.
