A senior member of Britain's new coalition government David Laws has resigned after it was revealed that he'd claimed tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayers' money to pay rents to his long-term gay partner. British MPs are banned from leasing accommodation from a partner. Earlier, Mr.Laws said he hadn't declared the arrangement because he'd wanted to keep his homosexuality private. Here is our political correspondent Rob Watson.

This is a terrible blow for David Laws personally and politically for Britain's new coalition government. For Mr.laws, the whole episode has exposed the very details of his personal life he had wanted kept private; for the new government, that's also a bad blow. David Laws was the minister responsible for getting the grips with Britain's vast budget deficit by carrying out cuts in public spending.