British lawmakers call on Commons speaker to quit

London: A group of British lawmakers says the speaker of the House of Commons must quit because of his handling of the controversy over legislators' expenses claims.

Lawmakers plan to introduce a motion Monday demanding that Michael Martin step down. He has been criticised for his attempts to block the publication of legislators' expenses claims.
If the motion were to succeed, Martin would be the first speaker ousted in more than 300 years.

Martin led a four-year battle to exclude the claims from freedom of information laws, but he was overruled by the High Court.

Martin, a lawmaker with the governing Labour Party, has been speaker since 2000.