New expenses row adds to David Cameron's many woes
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's first Muslim woman to hold a cabinet post fought back on Monday against allegations she had made improper expense claims, the latest in a series of public relations disasters to hit her political patron, Prime Minister David Cameron.
Sayeeda Warsi, a lawyer of South Asian origin who describes herself as a "Northern, working-class roots, urban, working mum", cuts an unusual figure in Cameron's Conservative Party, whose leadership is dominated by privileged white men from the affluent south.
Cameron elevated Warsi in 2007 to the House of Lords, giving her the title of Baroness, and when he took office in 2010 he made her party chairman and gave her a seat at the cabinet table. Her rise was widely interpreted as part of Cameron's drive to rebrand the Conservatives and broaden their appeal.
But the strategy risked backfiring after Warsi was accused on Sunday of claiming taxpayers' money for overnight stays in London during visits on House of Lords business in 2008 when she was in fact staying for free with a party colleague. ...............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://news.yahoo.com/expenses-row-adds-camerons-many-woes-142954679.html
