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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Norman Baker quits as Home Office minister | Norman Baker quits as Home Office minister |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker has resigned as a home office minister, saying working in the department was like "walking through mud". | Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker has resigned as a home office minister, saying working in the department was like "walking through mud". |
| Mr Baker told the Independent that Home Secretary Theresa May saw the Lib Dems as a "cuckoo in the nest" and criticised the department in a letter to party leader Nick Clegg. | Mr Baker told the Independent that Home Secretary Theresa May saw the Lib Dems as a "cuckoo in the nest" and criticised the department in a letter to party leader Nick Clegg. |
| The MP for Lewes was appointed to the Home Office in October 2013. | The MP for Lewes was appointed to the Home Office in October 2013. |
| Mr Clegg described him as a "brilliant minister". | Mr Clegg described him as a "brilliant minister". |
| Mr Baker and Mrs May have clashed over drugs policy, with the Lib Dem recently calling for sweeping changes to the UK's approach following the publication of a Home Office report which he accused the Conservatives of blocking. | Mr Baker and Mrs May have clashed over drugs policy, with the Lib Dem recently calling for sweeping changes to the UK's approach following the publication of a Home Office report which he accused the Conservatives of blocking. |
| He said the government should ditch what he called the "inappropriate rhetoric of the 1950s" and focus more on treatment. | He said the government should ditch what he called the "inappropriate rhetoric of the 1950s" and focus more on treatment. |
| BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said Mr Baker had been considering resigning for some time but had been persuaded to stay in post by Mr Clegg. | BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said Mr Baker had been considering resigning for some time but had been persuaded to stay in post by Mr Clegg. |
| In his resignation letter to his party leader, Mr Baker said being the only Lib Dem in the Home Office had been "particularly challenging". | In his resignation letter to his party leader, Mr Baker said being the only Lib Dem in the Home Office had been "particularly challenging". |
| He said: "Despite these challenges, I am pleased with what I have been able to achieve, not least to have been the first minister with responsibility for drugs to have put prejudice aside and published an evidence-based approach to this important issue, despite repeated Conservative efforts to block release." | He said: "Despite these challenges, I am pleased with what I have been able to achieve, not least to have been the first minister with responsibility for drugs to have put prejudice aside and published an evidence-based approach to this important issue, despite repeated Conservative efforts to block release." |
| Unlike in the Department for Transport, where he had previously been a minister, Mr Baker said that in the Home Office "the goodwill to work collegiately to take forward rational evidence-based policy has been in somewhat short supply". | Unlike in the Department for Transport, where he had previously been a minister, Mr Baker said that in the Home Office "the goodwill to work collegiately to take forward rational evidence-based policy has been in somewhat short supply". |
| 'Great skill' | |
| The keen musician, whose band The Reform Club released its first single last year, said being a minister and a constituency MP had "squeezed" the time he had available for his family and his music. | |
| Mr Clegg wrote back: "However complex the issues have been, or challenging the coalition relations have proved to be, you have handled the political relationships within government with great skill, always focusing on how to achieve liberal reform wherever you can." | Mr Clegg wrote back: "However complex the issues have been, or challenging the coalition relations have proved to be, you have handled the political relationships within government with great skill, always focusing on how to achieve liberal reform wherever you can." |
| As a backbench MP, Mr Baker claimed government scientist David Kelly was murdered in 2003 and said this may have been hushed up by the UK authorities. | As a backbench MP, Mr Baker claimed government scientist David Kelly was murdered in 2003 and said this may have been hushed up by the UK authorities. |
| But when he was appointed as a crime prevention minister in the Home Office, he described his views on Dr Kelly as "history" and his relations with Mrs May as "friendly". | |
| The Liberal Democrats said his replacement would be announced "in due course". | The Liberal Democrats said his replacement would be announced "in due course". |