Maria Miller Devastation caused quiting

'Devastated' Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said: "Labour is making much of this today, but let's face it they have MPs who have gone to jail - which is something that hasn't happened on our side - for wrongdoing." Because Mrs Miller's case related to claims made between 2005 and 2009, before the expenses system was reformed, the investigation was governed by the rules which were in place at the time, Mr Shapps said, with MPs seen to be "judging themselves". This was a discredited system, Mr Shapps said, adding: "In future that is resolved by the fact that it all goes now to an independent body in the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, that there is a lower tier tribunal which would look after these cases and can make judgements that the public can have confidence in. It's long overdue." In her resignation letter to the prime minister, Mrs Miller said she was "immensely proud" of her work in cabinet, including "putting in place the legislation to enable all couples to have the opportunity to marry regardless of their sexuality". She also acknowledged that her role in "implementing the recommendations made by Lord Justice Leveson on the future of media regulation, following the phone hacking scandals, would always be controversial for the press". The prime minister said he was sorry to receive Mrs Miller's resignation but accepted her decision. "I think it is important to be clear that the Committee on Standards cleared you of the unfounded allegations made against you, a point which has been lost in much of the comment in recent days," he wrote.