‘The embattled Culture Secretary Maria Miller has resigned today in an attempt to limit fallout from an expenses scandal that was damaging the Conservative Party. In a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron, Mrs Miller said the controversy over her expenses “has become a distraction from the vital work this government is doing”.’ – The Times (£)
Editorials:
How the pressure built up:
>Today: ToryDiary: Miller was right to resign
>Yesterday:
‘Britain’s economy is set to grow faster than any other leading nation this year after the International Monetary Fund raised its forecasts for the fourth time in 12 months. In a clear reversal of last year, when the IMF attacked the Chancellor for pressing ahead with austerity, it predicted that the UK would outstrip the United States, Germany, France and Japan. If correct, it will be the first time since 2007 that the UK has grown faster than the US.’ – The Times (£)
>Today: Graeme Leach and Harriet Maltby on Comment: How has the Coalition performed on the economy? Six marks out of ten
‘Dressed in his evening finery, Martin McGuinness arrived at Windsor last night for dinner with the Queen. But as his limousine swept through the castle gates, he was greeted by the grief-stricken face of the father of an Omagh bomb victim. Victor Barker spelt out exactly why he felt the former IRA chief had no place at the state banquet. His placard read: ‘A terrorist in a white tie and tails is still a terrorist – Martin McGuiness [sic] time to tell the truth.’’ – Daily Mail
>Today: Henry Hill’s Red, White and Blue column: Martin McGuinness toasts the Queen…as IRA victims call for his arrest
>Yesterday: Andrew Lloyd on Comment: Ireland should return to the Commonwealth
‘Mr Clegg may have been trounced [by Farage], and indeed humiliated, but his determination to strike fear in the minds of the public about the consequences of a British Exit – “Brexit” – was all too evident. In particular there was his absurd insistence that “three million jobs” depended on our membership of the EU, with the clear implication that they would disappear if we were to leave. This is complete nonsense.’ – Nigel Lawson, The Times (£)
‘Tougher rules for jobless migrants claiming children’s benefits were unveiled by the government on Tuesday in a signal “that our welfare system is not open to abuse”, according to a Treasury minister. Would-be claimants from overseas will also have to prove their English skills to be entitled to receive cash.’ – FT
‘George Osborne should promise large-scale and costly new tax breaks for married couples, a senior Tory said yesterday. The Chancellor should commit to a transferable tax allowance for married people worth the whole of their £10,500 income tax-free allowance, former Party chairman David Davis said.’ – Daily Mail
‘Conservatives are the true party of the workers, MPs have declared today. In a letter to The Daily Telegraph MPs, including David Amess, Mark Prisk and former immigration minister Mark Harper, say that their party is the natural home of working people. It comes as ministers and MPs from working class backgrounds publish a series of essays explaining why the Conservative party attracted them.’ – Daily Telegraph
‘Schools are resorting to having kitchen ‘pods’ dropped in by crane as the fiasco surrounding Nick Clegg’s free meals pledge deepens. More than 1,700 primaries have no cooking facilities, it emerged – as research revealed just how ill-equipped they are to meet the promise to four to seven-year-olds from September.’ – Daily Mail
>Yesterday: MPsETC: Is Jeremy Browne yellow or blue?
‘An independent Scotland would “not have the resources” to pay its share of national debt and would leave the rest of the UK shouldering an extra burden of £143bn, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has said. In a hard-hitting report, the NIESR has warned that Scottish independence could push up the rest of the UK’s debt to GDP ratio by as much as 9pc. The extra burden is “likely to catch the attention of credit rating agencies,” the economic think tank has warned.’ – Daily Telegraph
‘Police are failing to properly record crimes as serious as rape to hit performance targets, a damning report has revealed. A target culture within policing has created ‘perverse incentives’ and driven officers up to the most senior level to ‘misrecord’ crime, MPs said.’ – Daily Mail
‘The Ministry of Defence has made a last-minute attempt to block the publication of a book it commissioned one of its officers to write about the lessons of the military campaign in Helmand. The study, which is highly critical of British and American naivety in the Afghanistan district, was due to be published today but officials intervened claiming a breach of the Official Secrets Act.’ – The Times (£)
‘The US has accused Russia of fomenting unrest in eastern Ukraine, calling its efforts “illegal and illegitimate” and warning that Moscow was seeking to create a pretext for possible military action. “What we see from Russia is an illegal and illegitimate effort to destabilise a sovereign state,” John Kerry, the US secretary of state, told lawmakers in Washington.’ – FT
News in brief