Greek minister quits after tax scandal hits pop star husband

The Greek deputy tourism minister resigned after her husband, a pop singer and film star, was found to owe millions in unpaid taxes.

Angela Gerekou, 51, a former actress who once posed topless for a men's magazine, quit hours after the scandal broke in a newspaper.

Greece has been bailed out with a 136 billion loan from its eurozone partners and has pledged to crack down on tax evasion.

A government statement said: "Angela Gerekou has submitted her resignation for reasons of sensitivity and sensibility, so that there cannot be the slightest pretext to hurt the government." It added that Ms Gerekou claimed she had no involvement in the tax affairs of her husband, Tolis Voskopoulos.

The finance ministry confirmed that Voskopoulos, 70, faces criminal prosecution for 5.5 million in unpaid taxes and fines. It said the cases had not yet come to court, but Voskopoulos's real estate assets have been frozen.

Voskopoulos is one of Greece's best known singers from the Sixties and Seventies and appeared in several films.