Australian PM asks MP to quit over prostitute scandal

Australian prime minister Julia Gillard said she had asked a lawmaker embroiled in a scandal over payment for prostitutes to quit the Labour Party, in a blow to her fragile minority rule.

Craig Thomson, whose vote is key to Gillard, is alleged to have used a former employer’s credit card to pay for prostitutes and lavish meals and make cash withdrawals before he became an MP.

Gillard said Thomson strongly denied the allegations and was entitled to the presumption of innocence, but she had made a judgment call based on the need to preserve parliament’s reputation.