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David Laws: "I cannot escape the conclusion that what I have done was in some way wrong"
Coalition government colleagues have warmly praised David Laws after he quit as Chief Secretary to the Treasury.</p>The Liberal Democrat MP said he could not carry on with "crucial work" on the Budget after admitting he claimed expenses to pay rent to his partner.
PM David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg paid tribute to him, saying they hoped he would return to government.
Former Liberal leader Lord Steel said Mr Laws' resignation had "cost the new government an able minister".
'Honourable man'Mr Laws had earlier apologised over the revelations in the Daily Telegraph and said he would pay back the Â?40,000 he had claimed. The Yeovil MP said he had wanted to keep his relationship with James Lundie private.
Nick Clegg: "I have great respect for the dignity with which David has acted"
The prime minister wrote in response to Mr Laws' resignation: "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."
'Cruelly shattered'Mr Clegg said he had always admired his fellow Liberal Democrat's integrity
Mr Clegg said: "I very much hope that when those questions are answered there will be an opportunity for him to rejoin the government because, as everyone has seen in recent weeks, he has so much to contribute to national life.
"When all is said and done, this has come about because of David's intense desire to keep his own private life private. His privacy has now been cruelly shattered.
DAVID LAWS RESIGNSContinue reading the main storyHe is not only exceptionally abled, but a principled man
Vince CableBusiness SecretaryCable honours 'personal' decisionProfile: David LawsPM response to Laws resignationLaws' resignation letter to PM"I'm sure I speak on behalf of all fair-minded people when I say that I hope that David, and all those people close to him, will now be granted the privacy which he has always craved."
Chancellor George Osborne said he was "very sorry" to lose Mr Laws from the Treasury.
"It was as if he had been put on earth to do the job that was asked of him," he said.
"I spoke to David several times over the last 24 hours and I have a huge admiration for the way he has conducted himself in the most difficult circumstances.
"I completely understand and respect his decision to step down. Public life should have a future place for such an honourable, talented person."
'Witch hunt'Lord Steel said: "His mistake did not cost the taxpayer a penny since he could have been paying to rent a room elsewhere.
"Therefore his resignation seems to be an over-the-top reaction to newspaper stories and has cost the new government an able minister."
Former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik said his friend Mr Laws was the victim of a "witch hunt".
He said: "I think this is a national tragedy, not least because it suggests that - on matters which are nothing to do with a person's personal competence to do a job - they can still be pushed out of Parliament."
Mr Laws' resignation is the first to hit the coalition government, just three weeks after it was formed.
He was one of the Liberal Democrat negotiators who hammered out the deal before joining the cabinet as a key member of Mr Osborne's Treasury team.
Mr Laws said he had informed both Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg about the resignation, but it had been "his decision alone".
This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Coalition government colleagues have warmly praised David Laws after he quit as Chief Secretary to the Treasury.</p>The Liberal Democrat MP said he could not carry on with "crucial work" on the Budget after admitting he claimed expenses to pay rent to his partner.
PM David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg paid tribute to him, saying they hoped he would return to government.
Former Liberal leader Lord Steel said Mr Laws' resignation had "cost the new government an able minister".
'Honourable man'Mr Laws had earlier apologised over the revelations in the Daily Telegraph and said he would pay back the Â?40,000 he had claimed. The Yeovil MP said he had wanted to keep his relationship with James Lundie private.
Nick Clegg: "I have great respect for the dignity with which David has acted"
The prime minister wrote in response to Mr Laws' resignation: "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."
'Cruelly shattered'Mr Clegg said he had always admired his fellow Liberal Democrat's integrity
Mr Clegg said: "I very much hope that when those questions are answered there will be an opportunity for him to rejoin the government because, as everyone has seen in recent weeks, he has so much to contribute to national life.
"When all is said and done, this has come about because of David's intense desire to keep his own private life private. His privacy has now been cruelly shattered.
DAVID LAWS RESIGNSContinue reading the main storyHe is not only exceptionally abled, but a principled man
Vince CableBusiness SecretaryCable honours 'personal' decisionProfile: David LawsPM response to Laws resignationLaws' resignation letter to PM"I'm sure I speak on behalf of all fair-minded people when I say that I hope that David, and all those people close to him, will now be granted the privacy which he has always craved."
Chancellor George Osborne said he was "very sorry" to lose Mr Laws from the Treasury.
"It was as if he had been put on earth to do the job that was asked of him," he said.
"I spoke to David several times over the last 24 hours and I have a huge admiration for the way he has conducted himself in the most difficult circumstances.
"I completely understand and respect his decision to step down. Public life should have a future place for such an honourable, talented person."
'Witch hunt'Lord Steel said: "His mistake did not cost the taxpayer a penny since he could have been paying to rent a room elsewhere.
"Therefore his resignation seems to be an over-the-top reaction to newspaper stories and has cost the new government an able minister."
Former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik said his friend Mr Laws was the victim of a "witch hunt".
He said: "I think this is a national tragedy, not least because it suggests that - on matters which are nothing to do with a person's personal competence to do a job - they can still be pushed out of Parliament."
Mr Laws' resignation is the first to hit the coalition government, just three weeks after it was formed.
He was one of the Liberal Democrat negotiators who hammered out the deal before joining the cabinet as a key member of Mr Osborne's Treasury team.
Mr Laws said he had informed both Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg about the resignation, but it had been "his decision alone".
This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.