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| MPs Kirkbride and Moran to quit | MPs Kirkbride and Moran to quit |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Julie Kirkbride and Margaret Moran have announced they will stand down as MPs at the next election. | Julie Kirkbride and Margaret Moran have announced they will stand down as MPs at the next election. |
| Ms Kirkbride, Tory MP for Bromsgrove, had defended her decision to re-mortgage her second home by £50,000 to fund an extension. | Ms Kirkbride, Tory MP for Bromsgrove, had defended her decision to re-mortgage her second home by £50,000 to fund an extension. |
| Announcing her decision, she said she "must take into account the effects on my family" of the row. | Announcing her decision, she said she "must take into account the effects on my family" of the row. |
| In a separate development, the Labour MP for Luton South Margaret Moran announced she was also standing down. | In a separate development, the Labour MP for Luton South Margaret Moran announced she was also standing down. |
| The Daily Telegraph alleged she claimed £22,500 for treating dry rot in her designated second home in Southampton - 100 miles from her constituency. | The Daily Telegraph alleged she claimed £22,500 for treating dry rot in her designated second home in Southampton - 100 miles from her constituency. |
| Although she had repaid the money a Labour disciplinary panel had been due to decide whether the MP could stand for the party again. | |
| Rent-free | Rent-free |
| In a letter to Mr Cameron, Ms Kirkbride, 48, said she wanted the Conservatives to have a "great result" at the next election. | |
| She added: "My principal concern has to be for my very loyal local supporters in Bromsgrove whose trust in me has been very humbling in the last few weeks. | She added: "My principal concern has to be for my very loyal local supporters in Bromsgrove whose trust in me has been very humbling in the last few weeks. |
| The understandable anger in the media and amongst the public over the issue of my Parliamentary expenses has had a bruising effect upon my friends, my family and my health Margaret Moran Labour MP Claims row Moran to quit | The understandable anger in the media and amongst the public over the issue of my Parliamentary expenses has had a bruising effect upon my friends, my family and my health Margaret Moran Labour MP Claims row Moran to quit |
| "I also must take into account the effects on my family." | "I also must take into account the effects on my family." |
| In his reply, Mr Cameron thanked her for being so "frank and candid", adding that he appreciated that she had been "under enormous pressure" from "unbearably intense" media scrutiny. | In his reply, Mr Cameron thanked her for being so "frank and candid", adding that he appreciated that she had been "under enormous pressure" from "unbearably intense" media scrutiny. |
| He said: "I know this was a very hard decision for you to take, but I completely understand why you have decided to do so. | He said: "I know this was a very hard decision for you to take, but I completely understand why you have decided to do so. |
| "As you said to me this morning, your first instinct must now be to protect the well-being of your family - especially of your son." | "As you said to me this morning, your first instinct must now be to protect the well-being of your family - especially of your son." |
| Ms Kirkbride had been due to take the fight for her political future to the doorsteps of her Bromsgrove constituency over the next few days. | |
| Mr Cameron had offered her qualified support, but BBC political correspondent James Landale said that by Thursday morning there was a clear sense that the row had to stop. | Mr Cameron had offered her qualified support, but BBC political correspondent James Landale said that by Thursday morning there was a clear sense that the row had to stop. |
| Ms Kirkbride has spent the past few days defending herself from a range of criticism of her MP expenses claims. | Ms Kirkbride has spent the past few days defending herself from a range of criticism of her MP expenses claims. |
| Sustained pressure | |
| She was initially embroiled in the expenses story as a result of revelations that her husband - and fellow Tory MP Andrew Mackay - had named their main home in London as his second home and claimed expenses for it. | She was initially embroiled in the expenses story as a result of revelations that her husband - and fellow Tory MP Andrew Mackay - had named their main home in London as his second home and claimed expenses for it. |
| But despite him quitting and Mr Cameron saying her case was "different", she then had to defend the fact her brother lived rent-free in the constituency home she claimed second home allowances for. | |
| She faced television cameras on Wednesday afternoon to defend the arrangement - and the fact she paid her sister for secretarial work despite her living more than 100 miles from her constituency. | She faced television cameras on Wednesday afternoon to defend the arrangement - and the fact she paid her sister for secretarial work despite her living more than 100 miles from her constituency. |
| It didn't cross my mind that I had done anything wrong Julie Kirkbride In full: Kirkbride quits letters Tory MP to repay 'staff costs' | It didn't cross my mind that I had done anything wrong Julie Kirkbride In full: Kirkbride quits letters Tory MP to repay 'staff costs' |
| And on Thursday she was again forced to defend herself - this time over claiming for an extension at her second home. | And on Thursday she was again forced to defend herself - this time over claiming for an extension at her second home. |
| She said she needed an extra bedroom so her eight-year old son did not have to share a room with her 59-year old brother, who helps to look after her son. | |
| Before announcing she was to quit, she told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I understand people are angry about the way MPs' expenses operate, it is very hard to defend and I can understand why questions are being raised. | Before announcing she was to quit, she told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I understand people are angry about the way MPs' expenses operate, it is very hard to defend and I can understand why questions are being raised. |
| "But until this week's furore, it didn't cross my mind that I had done anything wrong." | "But until this week's furore, it didn't cross my mind that I had done anything wrong." |
| Meanwhile, as the Daily Telegraph's MP expenses revelations neared their third week, she was joined in stepping down at the next election by Labour MP Margaret Moran. | Meanwhile, as the Daily Telegraph's MP expenses revelations neared their third week, she was joined in stepping down at the next election by Labour MP Margaret Moran. |
| In a statement, Ms Moran, 54, said it was "with great sadness" that she had decided to leave Parliament at the next election following discussions with her family. | |
| "However, it is very important that I make it absolutely clear that I have done nothing wrong or dishonest in relation to my claim for expenses and have at all times acted on advice from the House of Commons Fees Office in relation to my family home in Southampton," she added. | "However, it is very important that I make it absolutely clear that I have done nothing wrong or dishonest in relation to my claim for expenses and have at all times acted on advice from the House of Commons Fees Office in relation to my family home in Southampton," she added. |