British Minister Quits After Criminal Charges
British Prime Minister David Cameron forced to make third unwanted shake up of his government after prosecutors charged Cabinet minister Chris Huhne over an alleged attempt to pin a speeding penalty on his ex-wife.
(AP) London — British Prime Minister David Cameron, who took office in 2010 with a vow to keep his top ministers in their posts for the long term, was finalizing a replacement for Huhne's position in charge of Britain's energy and climate change ministry.
It follows earlier unplanned reshuffles of Cameron's Cabinet, after Liberal Democrat David Laws stepped down in 2010 over an allowances row and following the dramatic departure of Defense Secretary Liam Fox, who resigned last year following a furor over a close friend who had posed as an aide.
Huhne, who will continue to serve in Parliament with the Liberal Democrat party — the junior member in Britain's coalition government — faces a criminal charge of perverting the course of justice, Keir Starmer, the chief prosecutor for England and Wales said.
