An Aberdeen-born UK Government minister quit his job at the Home Office yesterday amid tensions with Theresa May.
Norman Baker, who spent the first years of his life in the Rosemount area of the Granite City before moving to London, claimed the Home Secretary set out to shut down his activities.
Ms May’s advisers scrutinised what he was up to then “tried to minimise my room for manoeuvre”, the Liberal Democrat MP said.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced yesterday that Lynne Featherstone would replace Mr Baker as the Lib Dem representative in the department.
Ms Featherstone, who previously served as equalities minister, said she was “very happy to be returning to the Home Office”.
Seemingly contradicting Mr Baker’s assessment, she said: “I have always had a very constructive relationship with Theresa May and I look forward to working with her again.”
Former Conservative minister Damian Green insisted that Mr Baker had been the cause of tensions in the department because he tried to act as if he had the same ministerial rank as Mrs May.
But the Lewes MP denied the claims and laid the blame for his departure firmly at Mrs May’s door.
“I’m afraid that the Home Secretary, who I think is a formidable woman and a very competent Home Secretary, has one great drawback, which is that she regards this a Conservative department in a Conservative government and it’s not,” he said.
“It’s a coalition department in a coalition government and I’m afraid that mind-set has rather soured things.”
He added: “Clearly, there were issues which were in my portfolio which I wanted to take forward and under normal circumstances in any other department I would have been allowed to progress and really there were obstacles put in the way sometimes.
“Her special advisers, in particular, were scrutinising what I was doing and they tried to minimise my room for manoeuvre.”
Mr Clegg expressed regret at the loss of “one of the most effective ministers” in the government but said he fully understood why he was stepping down.
“I understand and respect the reasons he has given for standing down as a minister.
“He was an outstanding minister, but these things happen,” he said.