![Davidlaws](https://www.advocate.com/media-library/davidlaws.jpg?id=32724150&width=1200&height=876)
CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
David Laws, a widely admired cabinet minister who took on the position of chief secretary to the treasury just three weeks ago, has announced his resignation after an article in Saturday's Daily Telegraph said he'd claimed reimbursement for more than $60,000 in rent and other household expenses.
Laws had been claiming the expenses after taking on a "second bedroom" in the London home of his long-term partner, James Lundie.
Voters replaced more than a third of the members of the House of Commons in the election in early May, with connections to Britain's "expense claims" scandal contributing to the losses. Laws was the lead negotiator for the Liberal Democrats that formed a governing coalition with the Conservatives amid that scandal.
Laws had been popular right off the bat, working with Prime Minister David Cameron to find budget cuts in an effort to stabilize Britain's economy. He said in a statement Monday that he intends to pay back all of the money he claimed for reimbursement. Laws said he thought he was covered under the new reimbursement rules because they define a partner as "one of a couple who although not married to each other or civil partners are living together and treat each other as spouses."
Laws also said he'd been secretive about his relationship with Lundie because he did not wish to publicly come out.
"James and I are intensely private people," he said. "We made the decision to keep our relationship private and believed that was our right. Clearly, that cannot now remain the case. My motivation throughout has not been to maximize profit, but to simply protect our privacy and my wish not to reveal my sexuality".
Read the full story here.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
After 20 years, and after tonight, Obama will no longer be the Democrats' top star
August 20 2024 12:28 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Dannii Minogue is proud to embrace her status as a gay icon
September 05 2024 6:09 PM
JD Vance lies about Tim Walz and trans kids while courting the far right
September 05 2024 6:04 PM
The Runway of Dreams Foundation to revolutionize fashion with accessible design at NYFW
September 05 2024 5:48 PM
Sade's first new song in years will grace trans-focused album and honor her son
September 05 2024 3:37 PM
Mike Rogers is the anti-LGBTQ+ extremist running for U.S. Senate in Michigan
September 05 2024 3:32 PM
Judge partially halts Idaho’s anti-trans care law
September 05 2024 2:30 PM
Female couples are helping to keep Portland queer
September 05 2024 1:27 PM
How 'Skincare' tackles women's aging, consent, and othering a queer-coded Latino
September 04 2024 8:00 PM
Here are the 25 transgender Americans lost to violence so far this year
September 04 2024 3:35 PM
Ben Platt marries Noah Galvin in New York celebration
September 04 2024 3:15 PM
53 years ago, Jack Baker and Michael McConnell became the first same-sex couple to wed
September 04 2024 2:27 PM