British PM under Pressure over Expenses Minister

British Prime Minister David Cameron came under increasing pressure from his own party on Tuesday over his support for beleaguered Culture Secretary Maria Miller, who faces calls to resign over her parliamentary expenses.

A fellow Conservative minister appeared to criticize Miller publicly, and a prominent Tory backbencher said he was "surprised" she was still in her job, which includes overseeing a new system of press regulation.

More than 140,000 people signed an online petition calling for Miller to resign or pay back £45,000 ($75,400, 54,600 euros) on expenses related to her mortgage -- the amount that a parliamentary standards committee said she owed before a committee of lawmakers cut it to £5,800.

Two-thirds of Conservative party members believe she should stand down, according to a poll, because they fear the row is an unwanted distraction in the run-up to local and European elections next month.

Miller agreed last week to pay back the reduced sum and made a terse 31-second apology to parliament for providing limited information to an inquiry into her claims.

Cameron has given her his strong backing, insisting she has "done the right thing" and has made several public declarations of support.

Employment Minister Esther McVey broke ranks among Miller's cabinet colleagues, saying she would have handled the apology differently.

"I can honestly say it wouldn't be how I would have made an apology," the Conservative minister told ITV. "But different people have different styles and do things in different ways."

Backbench Tory MP Zac Goldsmith told the BBC: "I am surprised that Maria Miller hasn't stepped down. This is a decision for her to make or it is a decision for David Cameron to make."

There was support for Miller too, with the Conservative Mayor of London Boris Johnson saying she was being "hounded" about her expense claims.

Johnson said: "She is staying (in her job). I don't know the facts of the case in great detail but it seems to me she is being hounded quite a lot and I suppose my natural sympathies go out to people being in a hounded situation."

He blamed the system of expenses, saying what was needed is a "proper independent system of evaluating what is owed", adding "you cannot let the MPs do it themselves".

Cameron must face a potentially fraught meeting of senior Tory backbenchers on Wednesday, which will give critics an opportunity to voice their frustration.

Lawmakers' expenses became a toxic issue in the British parliament in 2009 when revelations by newspapers resulted in five members of the House of Commons and two members of the upper House of Lords being jailed for fraud.