DAVID Cameron last night defended his judgement to stand by Maria Miller over her expenses after she bowed to public and political pressure to quit as culture secretary.
The British Prime Minister said the controversy showed public anger over the abuse of taxpayer-funded allowances remained "raw" and further reforms would be required to heal it.
But he insisted he had been right not to sack Mrs Miller because she was cleared of the allegation made against her, that she housed her parents at public expense.
Mrs Miller yesterday bowed to days of mounting pressure over her commons expenses and announced she was quitting her post as culture secretary.
In a letter to Mr cameron, Mrs Miller said the controversy over her expenses "has become a distraction from the vital work this government is doing". She said she took "full responsibility" for her decision to resign, despite admitting that she had hoped to hold on to her cabinet post after she was cleared of the central allegation against her by the commons standards committee.
Mr cameron was said to have expressed "sadness" after she informed him that she was going. However, there are reports that a Downing street figure made a personal visit to her prior to the call to make clear that she could not stay on.
Mr cameron moved swiftly to fill the gap caused by her departure, promoting Treasury Minister Sajid Javid to take her place.
Mrs Miller was last night also under pressure to reject the payoff of around £17,000 she is eligible for after quitting as culture secretary over her expenses.